The Boy and His Fish
by GaleaFihriel
Summary: The only thing that Akashi Seijūrō ever wanted was for his mother to come back. After years of waiting, he found an answer to his wish in the guise of the ugliest fish with the most beautiful blue eyes.
1. Part 1: Kuroko Tetsuya

**Summary:** The only thing that Akashi Seijūrō ever wanted was for his mother to come back. After years of waiting, he found an answer to his wish in the guise of the ugliest fish with the most beautiful blue eyes.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own KnB, nor the individual pictures that made up the cover photo. The names of the paintings and sculptures, the Pacific Black Flounder, and Mai Valentine are all fictional. Kuroko Tetsuya's 'Tetsuya（テツヤ）' is written in katakana, but here I shall use the characters 'clear/piercing（徹）' and 'night（夜）' for 'tetsuya(徹夜)' for the purpose of the story. Also, no fish were harmed in the process.

**Warnings:** Unbeta-ed. May contain OOC-ness, grammatical errors, and misspells. Read at your own risk.

**A/N: **This story will have four parts and one epilogue chapter, and most probably one extra story. This is my first story for this fandom. Comments, reviews, criticisms, or any sort of feedback will be appreciated. Enjoy!

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**Part 1: Kuroko Tetsuya**

To the three-year old Akashi Seijūrō, the most important person in the world was Akashi Shiori: his mother. It wasn't his father Akashi Masaomi, who owned several multi-national companies and was one of the most prominent figures in the world of business; nor was it Kana: his nanny who practically raised him and took care of him since birth; he loved the woman dearly, mind you, but in the end she was just one of his father's hired hands and would not hesitate to betray him on his father's orders. His mother, however, was different. He believed that his mother was the most powerful woman in the entire world. She could drive away the monsters that hid under his bed and those that would invade his dreams at night, and she could calm the storm that was on his father's face on a trying day. She was not often with him, but when she would spend her time with him, he felt like the most loved child in the world. To Akashi Seijūrō, his mother was the person he loved most.

But even the most powerful woman in the world could still fall victim to an unpredictable and tragic occurrence which the believers often imply was an indirect result of the small measure of that person's faith – to which his father simply called an accident. It was during one of her many leisure hunting trips with her horse that his mother's (most detestable) horse got spooked out by a wild fox that leaped out of nowhere, which they later learned was the protective mother of the three very young kits they found afterwards. However, it was too late to save his mother who fell down her horse and rolled down on the steep slope and hit her head on a large tree. Ever since then his mother was confined in the hospital, and he had never seen his mother's eyes open again.

Seijūrō was told that his mother was not dead but asleep. They said that she was in the deepest of the deep sleep, and she cannot be woken up by normal means. Still, Seijūrō tried to wake her up everyday; but as months passed and his private lessons demanded more and more from him, it left him without time to visit his mother anymore. He felt bad, but Kana and his father told him that if he were to continue being a good, then maybe his mother might wake up sooner. "No mother can resist a good son," they said. So he remained obedient and aimed to be perfect at everything; surely his mother would not be able to resist him!

It was on his ninth birthday that Akashi Seijūrō was declared as his father's successor and heir to all Akashi assets and the next head of the Akashi family. A month after that, his father took him to a very large and grandiose establishment that was an auction house. Seijūrō remembered that it was a day that many would find special because of the number play of the date: 013013, which meant the first month of the year and the 30th day of that month on the year 2013. Perhaps it was because that it fell on a special date that Akashi Seijūrō felt that something extraordinary was going to happen. His father handed him a brochure with a list of items to be auctioned at night and told him, "Choose one to your liking. It shall serve as your present and a reward for your outstanding performance."

Seijūrō was neither ecstatic nor disappointed. The auction was of little interest to him, and he quickly dismissed it as an adult thing. Then a thought occurred to him: "_What if that 'something extraordinary' is something that can be bought in the auction?_" He quickly browsed the brochure, but soon his hopes were dashed when none of the items struck him as '_something extraordinary_'. There were five items in the list: the first was a painting by a long-dead artist during the renaissance period, the second was a two-thousand-year-old Greek sculpture, both of which were equally impressive but meant little to him since he had not yet acquired a discerning taste with art; the third was a lock of hair from a very famous yet deceased actress, which he found too creepy to even consider; the fourth was a very ugly looking fish that no one would want as a pet unless he or she was a collector; and the last was a very lavish dresser laden with precious gems, which was perhaps the the most practical item in the list but was still of little interest to him since he was not a girl nor did he desire extravagance. But since he was bidden by his father to choose, he had to obey. Then he thought it would be wiser to choose an item that would please his father. He could pick the last item for his mother, but he was sure that his father would frown upon such choice. He thought long and hard on which item would meet his father's approval, but he found no answer. Still, he was an Akashi, and an Akashi would never give up.

It was to Seijūrō's surprise and delight that he found another boy inside the auction house. However, when he approached him, he was disappointed to find that the boy was rather childish, loud, and uncouth despite being taller, and perhaps even older, than him. But there was one thing that he could envy the boy of: the boy, whose name he learned was Taiga, was very vocal of his complains even if it made him look miserable. Taiga complained that he was there not by choice, and then went on a much biased yet quite interesting discussion about the unfairness of adults, until finally, he complained about how complaining made him hungry. Seijūrō wanted leave him, but he did not want to leave empty handed. So he asked the boy the question that was the reason why he approached him in the first place: "If you were to have one of the items in this list, what would you choose?"

Taiga stopped his tirade of complains and took the brochure from Seijūrō. He flipped through the pages without actually reading, and predictably complained about the lack of food items when he finished browsing the list. But Seijūrō was a patient boy, so he urged Taiga to go through the list again. Taiga reluctantly went back to one entry and studied the picture. "This one!" he proudly exclaimed. Seijūrō took back the brochure and found that the boy was pointing at the ugliest fish in the world.

"You do realize that chances are high that it's not even edible, don't you?" asked Seijūrō.

"Yah, you'd probably get the worst stomach ache ever," answered Taiga.

"Then why would you want such fish?" he pressed on.

Taiga grinned. "I've always wanted a pet, and that fish looks badass!"

It was pointless to ask the boy which was just as Seijūrō expected. He bid Taiga farewell and then went back to his father. "Have you finally decided, Sei?" his father asked.

"Not yet," he answered. "But I will, soon."

When it was time, Seijūrō found himself for the first time seated inside the auction hall. The first item to be auctioned was the old painting entitled God's Abode. It was empowering, like a glimpse of the heaven that believers were literally _dying_ to get to. He wondered whether or not his father was a secret believer, but quickly dismissed it when he saw his unimpressed face when the painting was examined on the large screen in front. So he waited for the next item.

The second item was the 2000 year old sculpture called "The Chaining of Atlas". It was a rather cruel depiction of a man– or a titan if the stories were to be believed– who was bound with thorns and was forced to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. Seijūrō thought his father might be more interested in this work. But the older Akashi remained unimpressed.

The third item was a lock of hair from Mai Valentine: a very famous actress and singer from his father's time. Seijūrō had seen some of her records in the music room, and he thought that his father would surely want it. To his dismay, his father still showed no reaction.

The fourth one was, without doubt, the ugliest fish that Seijūrō had ever seen. It was small, only a foot in length, but the brochure said that it could grow to as long as a meter and half. Its fins and scales were black and disfigured as if there was mud that was permanently stuck on it. Its mouth was small and narrow and its teeth were dirty white and jagged. But what caught Seijūrō's attention were its eyes: they were pale and blue and they shone like light sapphires. It was, perhaps, the only beautiful thing about the fish.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the auctioneer started. "I present to you the fourth item for tonight: the Pacific Black Flounder. The Pacific Black Flounder is a very rare species found only at the bottom of the Central Pacific region. This fish is so rare that the island natives in the region call it the Deep Sea King. Legends say that once this fish matures, it can grant any one wish. Whether it's real or not, we'll leave it to the new owner to verify. Real or not, the Deep Sea King is a must-have for a rare species collector. Let's start with $1,150,000!"

Seijūrō felt that this was the '_something extraordinary_' that he was waiting for. It was the answer to Seijūrō's only wish: to have his mother back. So he called his father's attention and declared, "I want that one."

His father raised a brow at the sudden declaration. "Why?" he asked.

Seijūrō knew that if he were to say something about fairy tale wishes, his father would undoubtedly disapprove. Instead, he said, "I want to try having a pet. A fish won't take too much of my time, and that fish looks intimidating enough to show off."

Mr. Akashi beamed proudly at his son and immediately won the bid by doubling the amount of the last bidder.

...

That night, after they reached home, Seijūrō disobeyed his father for the first time in many years: he slipped out from his bedroom in the middle of the night when he was expected to be asleep. He sneaked into the garden and crept silently to the edge of the pond, and his eyes sought for his new black fish. It was hard to find it, especially when the only light he was relying on was the light of the gibuous moon. It was its eyes that betrayed it from its hiding place at the bottom of the pond. Seijūrō eyed it and willed it to heed him.

"Let me tell you straight," he said. "I am Akashi Seijūrō, and I am your new owner. Once you mature, I want you to rid my mother of her sickness. That is your only worth."

The pale blue eyes just stared at him.

"Father bought you and gave you to me. I am your owner, therefore you will listen to me."

The eye continued to blankly stare at him.

Seijūrō felt that it was challenging him, daring him to make it obey. He glared at the fish and willed it to submit. So he pronounced the words slow and clear, "I am your master. You will obey me, you hideous fish."

The fish seemed to understand him because it stood straight and swam closer to him. Seijūrō smirked in triumph. But then, it turned its back on him, raised its spiky tail above the water, and with a '_splash__', _Seijūrō found the bottom of his pajama pants wet. The black fish swam farther and left him.

Seijūrō stood stock-still and he couldn't comprehend what had just happened. A mere fish dared to defy him, which was was unconceivable. He thought about how the fish reacted, and it almost felt as if it was a child throwing a tantrum. Then, his lips curled upwards. Laughter seemed to bubble up from his lungs, and he had to stifle it with his hand while the other one clutched his stomach. Then he fell kneeling on the grass. It was too hilarious for him. Slowly, he reigned his outburst and laid on the carefully tended grass, and tried to catch his breath. He suddenly noticed the winter night sky. When was the last time that he found the glittering stars splayed out on the clear night to be beautiful? When did the croaking of the frogs and the chirping of the crickets sound so serene? He laid there, lulled by the night noises and the cold night breeze. His breathing started to relax and his eyes began to drop.

Then he caught himself almost asleep, and the sudden jolt returned him to wakefulness. He stood up, brushed his clothes, and went back to the edge of the pond. He sought out the pale blue eyes once more.

"You fish. Flounder, wasn't it? You understood my words." There was movement in the water a little far from him, but Seijūrō caught it nonetheless. "You can understand speech. You are an intelligent fish. I like intelligent creatures, therefore I can like you. I have decided that I shall give you a name. Be grateful."

There was a splash from a distance, and Seijūrō patiently waited. The black fish drew close until he could see it. It stopped, not close but also not far, and tilted sideways until its eye can fully see him. It was listening.

"At first, I was tempted to call you Makkuro for you are entirely black. But it sounds too ominous, not to mention that it also sounds like tuna, which is not permissible since you are clearly a species of higher intelligence than they." The blue eye continued to watch him and Seijūrō was pleased. "Therefore, I want to give you the name 'Kuroko' with the characters for 'black' and 'child'. Will you receive it?"

The black fish drew closer. Seijūrō thought it liked its new name, but then it raised its tail and made a splash. However, it did not move back. Seijūrō's brow creased in thought.

"I don't think we'll be able to understand each other unless we agree on some sign or gesture. How about you move forward towards me if you agree and backwards if you don't?"

The fish moved forward. Seijūrō was delighted by the response.

"Then, let us start over again. Are you not pleased with the name 'Kuroko'?"

The fish moved backward.

"Then, you like that name," he surmised.

The fish move forward.

"Do you wish to keep that name?"

The fish moved forward again."

"Then I can see no problem. Your name from now on shall be Kuroko." Seijūrō finished.

But the fish made a splash and swam far until Seijūrō could barely see it. Seijūrō sighed.

"Is there a problem with your new name?"

The fish moved forward.

"You are harder to please than I expect. But since you cannot speak, and only I can, I shall endure."

"Kuroko," he called. The fish moved towards him.

"You want to keep that name, but you want more," he guessed. The fish seemed excited because it swam in a circle before it moved forward.

"You want more, but what more can I give you? A title, perhaps? Sir Kuroko... that doesn't sound right." The fish just continued to watch him.

"Then perhaps you want more names," he guessed.

The fish moved forward.

"This isn't about names, isn't it?" he asked.

The fish rounded another circle in excitement.

He stared at the fish, as if willing it to tell him the answer to its riddle. He badly wanted to understand the fish because it was, for him, the most amusing creature in his household– not to mention the absurdity of the situation that he was actually communicating with a fish. Perhaps he was the only human to have ever communicate with a fish, that is, not including dolphins and killer whales. And what's more, this fish was whimsical and hard to please, and would even openly defy him. He should have been furious at its display, but getting worked up over a fish was plain unsightly. No matter how intelligent the fish was, he was the more rational being, therefore he has to act more dignified than the fish. Yet, the fish would continue to challenge him. And instead of getting furious, Seijūrō found himself getting more exhilarated than he had in years since his mother's sickness. It was then that Seijūrō finally realized the answer to its riddle.

"You wish to be on equal terms with me. Therefore, you want to be named in the manner of my people. You want two names."

The fish was visibly pleased as it actually rounded three circles and drew a lot closer until it was at the edge of the pond nearest to Seijūrō.

Seijūrō laughed, and quickly stifled it before he could wake up the whole household. A mere fish who wanted to be equals with humans was the most outrageous thought! But he composed himself.

"You are the most curious creature that I have ever seen. Very well, I shall grant you a second name."

The boy and the fish continued to trade their thoughts in that manner: Seijūrō proposing and asking, and Kuroko either rejecting or accepting, or even splashing when it was indignant. They continued to do so long into the night. Seijūrō was too immersed in their communication– for he cannot call it a proper conversation– that he completely forgot about the time. It was not until when the first cock crowed that he was reminded that he still had to sleep. But, his stubborn Akashi side wouldn't allow him to sleep without giving Kuroko a satisfying name. He thought that if the servants found him now, he would appear to them as fey. He wouldn't even contest that because any man caught having a pseudo-conversation with a fish all night would definitely be thought of as mad. He himself couldn't believe that a fish had kept him up all night.

Then he realized that he found the answer to Kuroko's second riddle.

"Tetsuya," Seijūrō declared with confidence. "Your second name shall be Tetsuya, written with the characters for 'clear or piercing', and 'night'. If read together, it means 'sleepless night', which will be a reminiscent of this memorable night. Yet, as lone characters, it shall describe you as the shadow that pierces through the night; unseen unless you wish to be seen. And most of all, it tells of the clarity of your eyes that best describes you: beautiful– because you are indeed a creature of beauty, intelligence, and magnificence, Kuroko Tetsuya."

Kuroko Tetsuya drew closest to Seijūrō, and Seijūrō was very pleased... until the fish jumped up and let out a large splash that made the lower bottom of his pajamas wet. However, the fish made no move to swim away.

Seijūrō could hold it no longer hold it. He laughed, regardless of the consequence of waking the whole household. It seemed that his new pet was not only stubborn and whimsical, but was also easily embarrassed.


	2. Part 2: Innocent Days

**A/N: **Thank you so much for all your feedback. If there's a beta-reader among the readers who would be interested to work on this story, then I would gladly appreciate your help. I have already finished writing the first draft of the entire story (except for the extra story), and now I am working on rewriting and editing them before posting them. I hope you'll find this chapter to your liking. Enjoy!

**Warnings:** Unbeta-ed. May still contain OOC-ness, grammatical errors, and misspells.

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**Part 2: Innocent Days**

Ever since that night, Akashi Seijūrō would be often seen during his free time talking to the fish. At first, no one minded him, but when the servants started hearing spontaneous bouts of laughter coming from the direction of the pond, they thought that the stress of losing his mother, and having a very strict father, had finally caught up with the poor boy. Pity welled in their hearts, and they did their best to be extra kind to the young master by giving him sweets, smiles, and a lot of praises. Seijūrō thought that the change in his household was very weird and suspicious, but that thought was quickly replaced with thoughts of games he was planning to teach his pet.

It was two weeks after the odd fish was brought home that they came to a conclusion that their young master was turning mad. It was one Saturday morning when the young master suddenly burst out from his room with his shogi board in hand, went out to the pond, and -to everyone's horror and alarm- tossed his shogi board to the pond before he promptly challenged the fish to a match. The servants, troubled by their young master's pitiful state, finally reported the boy's weird behavior to the master of the house. They would have wanted to spare the boy from his father's punishment, but their love for the boy and his well-being won over, and they hoped that the master would be able to bring back some sense to the poor lad. But contrary to what they expected, Mr. Akashi merely shrugged it off and told them that it was just a phase. Kana, however, was unconvinced.

"I beg your pardon, Master Akashi, sir," said she, "but I think your child needs help. He should be playing with kids his age, not pouring over books and questions that are ought to be left for high school. And now, he thinks that the fish is his friend! A _fish, _mind you! It would have been a little better if it were a dog instead, but that's not my point. My point is, he ought to be playing with kids his age."

But Mr. Akashi masterfully steered the topic and made a very convincing argument that in no way was the fish detrimental to his son's well-being. In fact, it was the other way around. He started going on about statistics, graphs, and charts on his son's performance and compared it to his previous data. The servants didn't really understand a thing, but they were nonetheless astounded and more than intimidated by the graphs and figures.

"I appreciate your concern, Kana," he said after his long presentation. "However, you should realize that it will be hard for him to have normal friends of his age. Even his choice of games: chess, shogi, and igo, are not attractive games for children. Seijūrō is an intelligent child. I believe that he is capable of making sound decisions, and that includes his choice of companions."

"I respect your opinion since you are practically the one who raised Seijūrō," he continued. "If you still have any misgivings, I shall ask Seijūrō to consider playing a competitive team sport in the near future. The competition will keep him entertained. And since it will be team sport, he will have learn to put up with different types of people– which is what you want for him. But for now, don't you think that he's acting more like his young age when he's playing with his fish?"

Thus ended their discussion with Akashi Masaomi's complete victory. However, Kana's womanly instincts was telling her that underneath her master's complete confidence in his son, it was possible that the master was just trying to avoid dealing with the said son. Her master had always been an awkward father.

...

Meanwhile, Seijūrō was having his patience tried on teaching shogi to his unmotivated fish. He knew that Tetsuya was intelligent enough to learn the game; after all, it learned how to play three-in-a-row in only three days, which he thought was quite a feat for a fish (since there were no past records of fishes successfully learning board games to compare with Tetsuya's progress). He loved shogi, and he was determined to show the fish why he thought that the game was best board game ever invented. Tetsuya, however, was completely uninterested with the game, and would often times ruin the setup and swim far from the boy, which would mark the end of their shogi session for the day. However, it was to Tetsuya's misfortune that as stubborn as it was, Seijūrō was the more stubborn one. He would not admit defeat since he's been taught that an Akashi must never fail. It was thus on the seventh day that Seijūrō was finally reduced to bribery. He declared, "Tetsuya, if you will make an effort to learn shogi, then I shall reward you generously."

It was no surprise that on the next day, Seijūrō found that a pawn piece was moved from 1c to 1d. He was so pleased that he immediately summoned for Kana– to the woman's dread– and asked her to accompany him in choosing a special dinner for his pet. The experience was so terrifying that Kana could still recall the events even after years of trying to forget that memory...

...

It was on a dark and cloudy– and foreboding– Wednesday afternoon that a reluctant Kana and an overly-enthusiastic Seijūrō– who Kana could even hear humming– visited a pet store that was nearest to Seijūrō's school. A very friendly middle-aged woman greeted them behind the counter and asked them about their errand. Kana could still remember the events too clearly for her liking.

"I would like to buy a few small fish for a friend," her young master declared, as if it was the most natural thing to do.

The woman just smiled at him sweetly. "Ain't that a sweet lad. I hope your friend will like it." Then the woman called her coworker: a dark-skinned younger woman with short-cropped hair, who she guessed was a college student working part time. "If you'd please follow Kei-chan here, she'll lead you to the aquariums. You can ask her anything you want."

The younger woman, Kei, led them inside a room that held an impressive display of fishes and other aquatic animals. Her young charge set off at once to examine the contents of each tank.

"What may you be looking for?" inquired their aid. Her speech had a faint but distinct accent found only in the southern provinces. She must have come a long way in order to study in Tōkyō, and that was something Kana can relate, herself coming from Fukui before she entered in the service of the Akashi household in Kyōto and moved with them to Tōkyō.

"Something very small since Tetsuya is still young. I heard that Tetsuya's kind are fond of minnows. Could you show me some?"

"His kind? His family, you might mean?"

Seijūrō smiled sweetly. "You could say that." Kana suddenly felt a chill run through her, but their guide didn't seem to notice it.

"That sounds nice," said Kei. "Minnows, eh? Not only are they easy to keep, but they also make fine baits. We have three kinds here, I think: the White Cloud, the Rosy Red, and the European Minnow. I personally recommend the red ones; they'll look real pretty inside your friend's tank. Here, let me show em to you."

As Kei led them to the right tank and Seijūrō studied the pinkish minnows, Kana fervently hoped that her misgivings were unfounded. But that was not to be; Akashi Seijūrō was not impressed. Seijūrō demanded to be shown the other minnows, and found them all unremarkable.

"They don't look... tasty enough," her young charge said. "I think I'll have to introduce Tetsuya to the finer things of life."

"_I think minnows __do just __fine_," Kana thought. "_They'll probably be eaten anyway, and I don't think that scary fish would __know anything about fine dining__._"

But their guide just chuckled. "Tasty? Kids sure have some way with words. I remember when I was a young lass, ol' aunt Hina hit me hard when I told her that her precious koi looks yummy." Kana noted with amusement when their Kei's accent grew thicker when she mentioned her aunt. "So, what might your friend like?"

"Hmm." Seijūrō seemed deep in thought. The young boy had a habit of crossing his arms and tapping his index finger when he was thinking. "Based from my experience, the price usually guarantees the quality, which means that they are bound to be tasty. Because I am feeling generous, I think I'll have your most expensive ones."

"_I don't think a fish would know the difference,_" retorted Kana inside her head, though she would never dare say it out loud.

"My, this Tetsuya sure is a lucky fella," said Kei. "But are you sure that your friend can take care of em?"

Seijūrō grinned. "Yup. Tetsuya's family is very experienced with dealing fishes."

"_They are p__redatory fish __too__,_" added Kana inside her head.

"Alright, that sounds good enough. Now if you'd please point out which ones you'll be having..."

"I'd like the smallest ones, if possible. And I'd like to inspect them first to make sure that they are of the finest quality."

Kei let out a small laugh. "Don't worry, young sir. Our provider is very trustworthy," she assured. " Everything here is of high quality."

"_What a __pity_," thought Kana. If only their aid knew what was the fate of those fishes, she wouldn't have had that smile on her face as she enthusiastically scooped out the fishes and packed them on individual containers for her capricious customer.

They ended up buying 46 fishes, all very attractive and expensive; all to feed one scary fish. Kana shuddered.

...

If only Kana knew that not everything would fall accordingly to his young master's designs, then she wouldn't have felt so bad about the fate of the fishes they bought. But because her presence was not needed during the actual feeding (to her utmost relief), she missed out the fact that there was another powerful being in that household that was capable of defying the young master: the fish called "Kuroko Tetsuya".

It was right after they arrived home that Seijūrō placed all the fishes in a wooden bucket and went to see Tetsuya. He was very proud of his accomplishment, and he wanted to show it off at once.

"Tetsuya, come here," he called. "I have your present with me."

The fish was surprisingly obedient; it must have been anticipating its reward. It excited Seijūrō. He knew that flounders like Tetsuya ate other smaller fishes, but he had not seen it in person yet.

"You are very lucky that I am your owner. Tonight, I shall treat you to a feast!" He lifted up the bucket, and poured all its contents into the pond! The fishes quickly scattered. "Go on, eat to your heart's content!" The boy, not wanting to miss out the action, leaned with his hands on the ground and stared expectantly at Tetsuya.

Seijūrō expected Tetsuya to do what flounders loved to do: to hunt. He knew through research that flounders camouflage themselves with sand at the bottom to ambush their prey. But his fish didn't move; instead it just continued to stare at him.

"What are you waiting for, Tetsuya?" he pointed at the fishes swimming away. "The larger koi might take them first if you won't act now." Still, there was no sign that the fish was moving anytime soon. Seijūrō withdrew his hand and studied his fish. "Are you, perhaps, that overwhelmed by my gift?" he tried. "Surely you haven't tasted such a wide variety of fishes, all of excellent quality. I'm sure that you haven't tried most, if not all of them, since these fishes were specially bred. I doubt that you can even find them under your sea."

The fish finally moved, and Seijūrō was delighted. But to his bewilderment, the fish swam towards him instead. Then, _SPLASH_! Seijūrō found that his face was now wet. The fish quickly swam off before the boy could come back to his senses.

Seijūrō was flabbergasted. "Did you just do what I think you did?" He rose with fists clenched and glared at the direction where his ungrateful pet swam. "Did you just threw water at my face?" he accused. However, the fish was smart enough not to answer– not that it could without showing itself– and did not leave its hiding place. Seijūrō was mad. "Confound it all, you miserable sea critter! After all that I have done for you, you dare repay me with disrespect?" He waited for any indication that the fish was listening, but found none. Then he felt really stupid because he realized that he was actually getting into an argument with a fish. The fish probably did not even know what it had done to deserve his ire. Perhaps he had expected too much from the fish; no matter how intelligent it was, a fish was still a fish. His anger bated down, but his annoyance still persisted. "Fine, be that way," he ground out. "See if I'll ever give you something again."

He was about to turn and leave when he caught sight of his thankless fish swimming back towards him. His pet held a dead root in its mouth, and what was more baffling was the presence of two other fishes he had bought earlier, and were now nibbling at the ends of the root.

"You shouldn't befriend your food; it will only end in tragedy," the boy recited sagely.

The fish dropped the root and the smaller fishes swam away.

"See? Even your new friends left you. You're better off with just me."

The fish turned and splashed at his direction again. He sighed. "It seems that you didn't like my present. Why?"

The fish only picked up the discarded root, nibbled on it, and dropped it once more. Seijūrō raised a skeptic brow at the incredulous display. "You are kidding me." The fish just stared at him unblinkingly, which unnerved him, before he remembered that fishes do not blink– except for sharks.

"You know, flounders like you need to eat fish if they want to grow healthy," he chastised. He thought that a tactic that was commonly used on children would be more effective to a fish that acted the same way. There was still no reply from the fish, so he pressed on. "You shouldn't be picky with food. Even I have some that I don't want, like seaweed, but I still eat them."

The fish swam and disappeared out of sight, then reappeared with a seaweed on its mouth. Then it ate it.

"Are you trying to provoke me?"

The fish quickly dropped the half-eaten seaweed.

"Eat the fish," he ordered.

The fish moved. It swam upwards, then downwards, then cut a diagonal to the upper right, and down again, before it cut again another diagonal to the upper left. Then it stopped and turned to him. Seijūrō recognized that the fish just did a figure of eight, just like how he taught it to do. Earlier that week, Seijūrō and Tetsuya agreed on a new gesture: Tetsuya would swim around in circles in agreement, or swim in figures of eight otherwise. He was a little proud at the current display, but his annoyance with its defiance remained greater.

"Just eat the fish!" he ordered. "That's what I bought them for!"

This time the fish splashed at his direction.

He sighed, tired of arguing with the fish. "Sticking on a vegetarian diet would do you no good. You should act your species and eat fish."

The fish formed another figure of eight.

"You refuse to eat it? You are the queerest flounder I've ever seen."

This time, the fish swam in a circle.

"That was not particularly meant as a compliment."

The fish swam in a circle again.

Seijūrō just shook his head and gave it up. "You aren't cute at all, Kuroko Tetsuya."

That was how the boy and his fish had their first fight, and how Seijūrō experienced his first defeat. To Seijūrō's chagrin, Tetsuya still continued its strict vegetarian diet even after he tried to dissuade it many times after. Nevertheless, they always mended their friendship over a game of underwater shogi, wherein Tetsuya kept on making moves that were illegal and moves that were out of his turn; in fact, it seemed that the fish was only interested with pushing the tiles out of the board.

...

Those were only a few of the many ups and downs of Seijūrō and Tetsuya's strange friendship. The first few weeks were the most difficult, especially for the servants who had to cope up with their young master's ever changing moods. But as time passed, Seijūrō got used to his pet and regained back his... what they dubbed was his normal behavior– all to the relief of the servants and his father.

To the Akashi household, they could finally see that the fish had a positive effect on the young master. The servants saw that Seijūrō was happier, and the master found that his son was excelling even more in school and in his extra lessons. The master regarded with pride the increasing number of gold trophies and medals in his son's study room.

On the other hand, to Seijūrō himself, Tetsuya provided the much needed distraction from his very stressful life. If he were to describe it, it was like talking to a plant, only that Tetsuya was more responsive and a lot more amusing than plants. He would often wonder aloud beside his mother's prone form if that was what it felt like having a pet. He wondered once how it would feel like to have a more domesticated pet, like a dog or a cat, instead of a fish, but he quickly dismissed it. He would die first before someone would catch him hugging a dog or a cat; at least a fish was cold, literally and figuratively. The same could be said with talking to a fish or a plant, but Tetsuya was different; Tetsuya was far more intelligent than the koi in their pond, and was far more interesting– and even exasperating at times– than their obedient guard dogs. Tetsuya was simply one of a kind, and he badly wished that his mother could see his pet too.

Thus the boy and his fish developed a nightly ritual of _talking_, though it was only the boy who was doing the actual talking. Seijūrō would talk about his school, teachers, classmates, and the strange theories he had about anything that he knew. He also loved to have a one-sided discussion with the fish, especially about his theories. And lastly, they developed a shogi ritual. Before the night would end, Seijūrō would make a move and give Tetsuya the whole night to think about its move. Come morning, Seijūrō would find that Tetsuya had already made its move. He would make another move before he prepared for school, and the fish would have made its move before he returned from school. On weekends, however, the number of moves they made depended on Tetsuya's pace. Their matches went like that, until Tetsuya was either defeated, or would resign by ruining the game.

On Seijūrō's elementary graduation, he was surprised that his father had a gazebo built in the middle of their pond. It was round, and had a red-tiled roof that matched the traditional style of their house. The wooden bridge that connected to it was arched, and the top of its rails were painted red. Seijūrō's favorite feature was the inside of the gazebo, where, on its center was about a meter wide square hole that would let him view the bottom of the pond. It was the perfect size for Tetsuya. He sincerely thanked his father, to which his father's only reply was that the gazebo's design was based on the 'mon' coin for good luck. Seijūrō didn't point out to his father that neither he, nor his father, believed in luck.

The gazebo quickly became Seijūrō's and Tetsuya's special place. Often times, the boy would be found in the gazebo, sometimes practicing his violin, and other times doing his homework. Most times, the boy would just be talking about his new middle school, his new friends, and the basketball club that he recently joined. At rare times, he would ask the fish for his advice, which was a very challenging feat to achieve since the fish could only answer with either a yes, a no, or a splash that also served as an act of indignation or reprimand. It was apparent to all who could see that boy had formed the most peculiar and unique friendship with the odd fish.

...

For the longest time, the gazebo only saw Seijūrō and the fish as its guests– except for the servants who cleaned it at least once a day. It was a day in summer that brought a change to that. It was Seijūrō's first summer vacation in Teikō middle school, and the boy brought home friends with him for the first time.

The first other friendly human that Tetsuya met was a tanned male with midnight blue hair. The fish had quickly taken a liking to the other boy because his hair reminded it of the color of its home deep down the ocean. The boy was grumpily reading a colorful book filled with pictures of women, and soon became quiet when his entire attention was turned to the book. Seijūrō was nowhere in sight, so Tetsuya took the initiative to introduce itself to the boy's guest. The fish went under the gazebo and directly below the square hole, and with a splash of its tail on the water, it tried to get the other boy's attention.

Perhaps it was too effective because as soon as the other boy heard the splash and turned towards the sound, the boy suddenly let out a high-pitched shriek and stood up. In his surprise, the colorful book flew from his hand, up behind him, and sunk down deep into the pond.

Seijūrō was quick to rush to the scene, and with him were three other humans with green, purple, and pink hair. It was the oddest colors of hair that the fish had ever seen on humans. Tetsuya first thought that Seijūrō had the most unnatural hair color on humans, so it was well surprised to find out that there were queerer humans besides its self-proclaimed owner. "_If __Seijūrō-__kun__ ha__ngs out with__ queer humans for friends,_" it thought, " _then_ _it's no wonder __why __he'__s__ very__ queer!_"

It was Seijūrō who spoke up first. "It seems that you've met Tetsuya," said he. The blue-haired boy didn't respond but continued to eye the fish warily.

"_I did __the introductions__ myself_," was what the proud fish wanted to say.

"Why is Mine-chin the earliest?" asked the purple-haired boy. He was the tallest and largest among them, and Tetsuya immediately thought that he was their school leader. But then, it thought that even if Seijūrō was relatively small compared to the other humans in the house, everyone obeyed him, which could mean that Seijūrō was also a school leader. The fish thought that humans were the most confusing creatures.

"Actually, it's my fault," the pink-hared girl gave a sheepish smile. "I gave him the wrong time on purpose. "

"And for a good reason. Good call, Satsuki," approved Seijūrō.

The pink-headed girl only gave a thankful nod in return. Then she turned to the blue-haired boy who stood stock-still. "Dai-chan, is there something–"

"Satsuki, don't go near it!" the blue-haired boy burst out all of the sudden.

The girl paused to see what the other boy meant, and her eyes fell upon the black fish. She turned to it and studied it carefully. The fish felt as if her eyes bore deep into its scales, revealing everything about it including its last meal. The fish felt intimidated, and it was right to do so because there were a lot of species wherein the females were more aggressive than their male counterparts. What it didn't know was that the girl had realized something, and that the way she eyed at the fish was far from threatening– albeit it could still be categorized as _aggressive_.

"That fish... is _the_ friend, Kuroko Tetsuya?" asked the green-haired boy who was holding a fake-looking chick. He was nervously shifting the odd contraption on his eyes, which the fish would find out much later that it was called _glasses_.

Tetsuya thought that the green-haired boy's doubts were only right. "_You shouldn't befriend your food_," was what Seijūrō often said, and according to the food chain, fish were human food. Tetsuya briefly wondered why it wasn't afraid of humans, or other predators for that matter, and thought that perhaps its survival instincts were very flawed. It would have liked to continue its inner debate, but that would have to wait for another time when it was alone. Then it realized that its thoughts were starting to sound more and more like Seijūrō with his appetite for debates. It quickly turned back to their conversation.

"Interesting fish, isn't it?" said Seijūrō.

Now the green-haired boy shifted on his place and glanced at the entrance. He seemed to hesitate. "I–"

"Mido-chin thought that Kuro-chin was a kid you kidnapped to be your playmate," the purple-haired boy interrupted. Then he said as an afterthought, "Aka-chin, Kuro-chin doesn't look tasty at all."

The fish appreciated that the boy thought that he was not good enough to eat, and since not being eaten was always a good thing, the fish even took it as a compliment. Seijūrō, however, didn't sound like he appreciated it as much as he did.

"Murasakibara, Tetsuya is not for eating," admonished Seijūrō.

"_Maybe that's why he doesn't get along well with the other humans,_" Tetsuya thought. "_Seijūrō-__kun__ is __just __socially awkward._"

"Tetsuya," Seijūrō commanded the fish's attention, "here is Midorima Shintarō, Murasakibara Atsushi, Satsuki Momoi, and Aomine Daiki. They are my basketball teammates." He motioned his hand over each of his friends as he called their names. "Everyone, meet Kuroko Tetsuya, my pet flounder."

Midorima, the green-haired boy, warily stared at Seijūrō as if he was suddenly going to snap, which would be a pretty much normal occurrence for Tetsuya who had seen a lot of the red-haired boy's weird moments. On the other hand, Satsuki, the pink-haired girl, continued to stare at Tetsuya with adoration– which the fish took as threatening since it felt the same as how a predator would eye its prey– while Aomine, the blue-haired boy, stared at the same fish with apprehension. Lastly, Murasakibara, the purple-haired and the tallest boy, just continued snacking on his potato chips that he brought with him.

"Your pet has a very interesting name," commented Midorima. "It also didn't escape me that you introduced us to him first, not that I mind it or anything," he added the last part hastily.

"So this Tetsu-kun is the one you're trying to teach Shogi?" asked Satsuki. Her curiosity was piqued.

"Fish can't play shogi," Murasakibara absentmindedly remarked. "Ah, but if it's Aka-chin teaching, then maybe it can." The purple-haired giant seriously believed that even pigs could fly as long as they were under Akashi Seijūrō's tutelage.

"It's impossible for fish to learn Shogi. They simply don't have the capacity," stated Midorima with no nonsense. The fish seemed to take offense because it lifted its tail and splashed at Midorima's direction, to which the boy just dismissed as a fishy gesture(no puns intended).

"But I saw a stone shogi board under the pond. We passed by it earlier. It was an ongoing game," said Satsuki. "Besides, I feel that this fish is special."

"Perceptive as ever, Satsuki," praised Seijūrō. "You are correct. Right now, Tetsuya is still having difficulties with differentiating promoted units, but I know that given time, Tetsuya has the potential to beat at least Aomine."

That seemed to bring Aomine back to his senses. "Shit," he cursed, still eyeing the fish warily. "Akashi, you sure this thing doesn't bite? It looks big enough to chew your hand off. Dammit, and I just bought that magazine this morning," he complained.

"I doubt that a fish could be that intelligent," said Midorima who, again, shifted his glasses. " But I could see that it's perceptive enough to be... observing us like that." True enough, the fish was eyeing them with curiosity– and dare he say, intelligence– and it almost reminded Midorima of the dolphins in the public aquariums. "Is that why you bought it, Akashi?" asked Midorima.

"No," Seijūrō answered truthfully. "At that time, I was only interested for its mythical properties. It is said that Tetsuya's kind can grant wishes."

"That doesn't sound like you, Akashi-kun," remarked Satsuki. "Myths and fate-altering items are more like Midorima's thing. But now I'm getting more curious..." The fish didn't like the way the girl was eyeing it more intensely than before.

"Fuck, Satsuki, stay away from that ugly thing!" shouted Aomine when Satsuki moved closer to the fish.

The fish inwardly liked the fact that it had so much power over Aomine. Seijūrō, however, seemed displeased. "Aomine, that was uncalled for."

"Don't be like that, Dai-chan," reprimanded Satsuki. " Tetsu-kun is a gentle creature. He won't bite. Besides, he's not ugly. In fact, it's the opposite: he is very beautiful," said Satsuki. Midorima choked and Aomine blanched.

"Oi, Satsuki, are you blind? How could you call that ugly thing beautiful?" Aomine said with incredulity.

Satsuki ignored him. She knelt down at the edge of the hole and raised a hand. "Can I touch him, Akashi-kun?"

To Tetsuya's horror, Seijūrō gave his approval. "You may, but please avoid the head. Tetsuya's left eye has started shifting to the right, which took a lot later than I expected. It might be a little sensitive, so let me help you." Seijūrō knelt beside Satsuki and firmly held Tetsuya's sides. "And Aomine, calm down. It won't bite. It's even hardly two-feet long."

"He, not 'it'. Tetsu-kun is male," Satsuki corrected Seijūrō, and the boy accepted her correction even if he knew that 'it' was also grammatically acceptable. He never actually gave a serious thought about his pet's gender, nevertheless it delighted him to know. Perhaps he was getting more and more attached to his pet.

On the other hand, Tetsuya wanted nothing more than to swim away far and safe from their hot and uncomfortable hands. It- _he_ knew that he could easily escape Seijūrō's grip, but he also didn't want to deal with the possible repercussions, especially if it will involve Seijūrō and all his nonsense trying. He fervently hoped that Seijūrō wouldn't let the girl eat him.

"It's something I asked my uncle when I was young," Satsuki continued. "He said that like birds and many animal species, in fishes, most males are more beautiful than their female counterparts." Satsuki was about to touch Tetsuya when suddenly, Aomine pulled back her hand. Tetsuya was growing more fond of Aomine.

Unfortunately, it only took one glare from the red-haired boy to make Aomine release her hand. "Fine, do whatever you want." He cast Satsuki a worried glance, but remained silent.

Satsuki was only too thrilled to touch Tetsuya. Her hands slid on one of his scales and gently scraped it with her nails. The fish squirmed." Hush, I won't harm you," she whispered. But the fish could feel her prodding and scratching his scales, which made his survival instincts kick in. He struggled hard, and was finally let go. Seijūrō commanded Tetsuya to come back at once, but the fish was hearing nothing of it.

"Aww, too bad," Satsuki whined at the loss. But then, she turned to her friends and triumphantly showed something black between her fingers. "These are just barnacles. He must have gotten it from his sea home. His new ringlets were clean, and I bet they will shine a different color when hit by the sun."

It was true indeed. Underneath the ugly matting of barnacles, Tetsuya's clean scales shone as black and lustrous as obsidian, and when hit by the sun at the right angle, part of his scales would take a pale blue shine that was the exact same color as his eyes. It would still be many months until Seijūrō would be able to clear out all the barnacles, but at that moment, Seijūrō and Satsuki knew that Tetsuya's scales was bound be most beautiful.

As for Tetsuya, he silently observed them from a safe distance. He thought that friendship among humans was a very noisy and rowdy thing. Before he met Seijūrō's friends, he thought that Seijūrō was the noisiest human. The boy would spend too much time talking, or forcing him to move tiles with squiggly black lines drawn on top. Also, unlike the females who actually cleaned his home (which they call a pond), Seijūrō did nothing but play games. But, the Seijūrō with his friends was a very different human. That Seijūrō was less talkative and didn't throw fits. Even more baffling for the fish was that even if Seijūrō was not the most talkative, nor the largest human in their group, and most definitely not the most hardworking, his friends still treated him with respect and obeyed him without question. Humans, the fish thought again, were the strangest creatures.

...

As time passed, the fish became more accustomed to the uncommon and unannounced visits of Seijūrō's friends. Aomine was his second favorite human next to Seijūrō, and he would always try to surprise or scare the boy at every chance. It took a while for Aomine to finally get over his fear of the fish and get used to his antics. Aomine once remarked about how Tetsuya shouldn't spend too much time with Seijūrō; the boy was genuinely frightened of how the fish was developing an 'Akashi' sense of humor.

Midorima, as Tetsuya observed, was closest to Seijūrō. The both of them often played shogi and held serious conversations which the fish couldn't follow. Midorima, however, was awkward when he was with Tetsuya. The boy would feel embarrassed whenever he tried talking to the fish, and he often claimed how stupid the entire thing was. Nevertheless, Tetsuya admired him. Tetsuya didn't believe in gods since fishes didn't have gods, but he believed that Midorima was somehow connected to the god of fortune. It explained why Midorima knew about a lot of things, including daily fate-altering items. It was also from Midorima that Tetsuya learned that he was not only a fish, a flounder, a he, and a Kuroko Tetsuya, but he was also an Aquarius. It came out of nowhere when Midorima suddenly asked Seijūrō about Tetsuya's birthday.

"I don't think that fishes have the same concept for birthdays as us," answered Seijūrō. "However, if I were to pick a date for it, then it shall be on the day I named him. It was past midnight after the auction which was held on... ah, 013013: January the 30th of 2013. Therefore, his new birthday shall be on the 31st January."

"An Aquarius," said Midorima. "How fitting."

According to Midorima, the reason why Tetsuya and Seijūrō got along so well was because of their signs, and it was for the same reason why Midorima and Tetsuya didn't, and wouldn't. Tetsuya really did not know about the significance of the signs, but while Midorima explained it, the boy looked so confident and sure that it was hard not believe him.

Murasakibara, on the other hand, was the most well-behaved and the most gentle of Seijūrō's friends; he didn't ask him a lot of questions, and he would remain quiet for most of the time. Sometimes, he would share his snacks to Tetsuya, which would always make Seijūrō snap and scold the giant, telling him that candies and junk food could actually kill fishes.

Out of all of Seijūrō's friends, Tetsuya found Satsuki the most threatening. She would always have that shine in her eyes that would make him think of how much she wanted him for dinner. He believed that the reason why Satsuki was holding back was because he wasn't fat enough. He was very grateful that he had stuck to his vegetarian diet.

The summer of Seijūrō's second year brought in a new friend named Kise Ryōta. Tetsuya thought that everything about Kise seemed to sparkle like his blond hair, and it made him think that he was the manliest human in their group. He thought that if Kise were a fish, then no female fish would be able to resist his sparkling coat of golden scales.

At first, the new boy was indifferent towards Tetsuya and was content to observe him from a distance, to which the fish was grateful for; answering the beck and call of five humans was already a very tiring job for the fish, especially when one of them was Seijūrō. But that changed when they roped Kise to ask him a question, to which his reply amused Kise to no end. Kise started to ask him to do some tricks like the dolphins in shows, and Tetsuya thought that having Kise was like having a pet that constantly needed attention. It wasn't long before Kise became Tetsuya's no.1 fan– along with Satsuki. There were times when the fish thought Kise was too much, but for most of the time, Kise's company was appreciated. Perhaps it was as Midorima said: Gemini and Aquarius would get along well.

Despite having met all of Seijūrō's friends, Seijūrō still remained as Tetsuya's favorite human. He learned to like Shogi not because of its odd rules, but rather because of the boy's company. And Seijūrō would talk to him at night about his day and about his friends that Tetsuya felt that he had experienced the whole day with the boy. Then he thought how it would be like to actually spend his day with Seijūrō: playing basketball with Seijūrō and his friends, and going to Teikō with all of them.

Tetsuya knew that Seijūrō was very fond of his friends, even if he wouldn't show it. That Seijuoro talked less, complained less, and demanded more, but he also had those small smiles and silent chuckles. Tetsuya found that he also liked that Seijūrō.

Little by little, the fish grew more and more fond of the times where all seven of them were together inside the gazebo. It even reached to the point where he was actually anticipating their visits. Human friendship, he thought, felt very nice.

Little did they know that the year after would bring about great changes that will bitterly test their bonds.


	3. Part 3: Lost Days

**A/N**: I apologize in advance for the many time skips in this chapter. The timeline and events follow the anime/manga, except that there is no phantom sixth man in the GoM. According to the schedule in their website, Inter-high is around the end of July or August (around summer break) and Winter cup is at the end of December (around winter break). Their new academic year starts on April. Also, the misspelled and grammatically incorrect words in Kana's dialogues are intentional.

Many thanks to **AokazuSei **for the beta.

* * *

**Part 3: Lost Days**

It was late autumn during Seijūrō's second year of middle school when Tetsuya first noticed the changes. It started when Seijūrō's nightly visits became later in the evening, and their weekend meetings became shorter. At first, Tetsuya didn't pay much attention to it. But when Seijūrō failed to visit him one night, Tetsuya felt that something was very off. It was also the first time that Seijūrō missed two turns in their shogi match.

When Seijūrō came back, the news he brought with him was rather disconcerting: Aomine no longer attended basketball practice, Murasakibara was unmotivated with the game, and Kise had lost his passion to play. But Tetsuya felt that there was something else that Seijūrō was hiding. He rationalized that internal club problems wouldn't have kept Seijūrō up late at night. There was something else that was bothering Seijūrō, and Tetsuya felt so powerless that he couldn't even ask the boy what it was.

Then one night, without warning, Seijūrō snapped.

First, he accused Tetsuya of being a fraud. Then, he cursed at him of being worthless. And lastly, he blamed him for his mother's illness; he even ordered him to cure his mother at once. After that, he broke down. It was the first time in their five years together that Tetsuya saw Seijūrō's tears.

After the night of Seijūrō's outburst, the boy didn't visit him for a week.

Tetsuya didn't know what brought that on. Something must have happened to the boy for him to uncharacteristically lash out at him like that. But Seijūrō's accusations hit him like a fisherman's harpoon because they were nothing less than true.

He was no wish-granting fish, just an _ordinary_ fish. That talk about wish-granting was something that humans made up for themselves, and Seijūrō was a fool for believing their tales.

He wanted to blame Seijūrō for his own misfortune, but the guilt he felt was more overwhelming. He believed that he had played a part on causing the boy much pain; false hopes often end up causing great grievances. He had wanted to tell the boy that he did not know how to grant wishes, and it frustrated him to no end that he couldn't even do that. It was unfair how humans could tell him anything they wanted and selfishly make demands, while he, as a fish, couldn't do the same. Still, he wanted to apologize to the boy for tricking him, even if it was the boy who tricked himself. The knowledge that the boy might still be hoping for a miracle from him continued to eat Tetsuya's nights.

...

When Seijūrō came back, his left eye had changed. It was no longer the warm red that Tetsuya knew, but in its place was the cold gleam of hard gold. And with that change also came a drastic transformation of his personality, and this new Seijūrō's presence chilled him to the bone.

"Tetsuya," he said. "Father ordered me to study in Kyōto for High School. I am going to bring you with me. You are mine, and I do not want anyone else to handle what is mine." Then he left. That made it the 15th time that Seijūrō missed their shogi match.

Tetsuya was suddenly afraid of the stranger that was using Seijūrō's body. He wanted to run, hide, have nothing to do with that stranger, and pretend that everything was fine. He wanted to come back the next day and find that a shogi tile had been moved, to find Seijūrō talking to him later that night. But when the next day came, the tiles were untouched.

It made Tetsuya realize that more than his fear of the new Seijūrō, his desire to smack some sense back into the boy was greater. But he had no idea what was to be done; how could a fish even_ talk_ some sense into a human? In his frustration, he scattered the pieces of their current shogi game. But when he reached the king, he paused. That piece was like Seijūrō. Everything he loved, from the mundane discussions to their pointless games to the beautiful world outside his pond that he could only imagine through Seijūrō's words, all would be lost if Seijūrō was gone. He suddenly lost heart to push out both kings from the board, so he left the two pieces untouched.

Perhaps something stirred inside Seijūrō when he saw the two kings amidst the scattered tiles because when Tetsuya came back, a new game was set up: a bishop and rook handicap game on Seijūrō's part. Hope rekindled inside the fish that maybe the old Seijūrō might still be there. He wanted to draw the old Seijūrō through their game; if there was some way he could get through Seijūrō, then it would only be through shogi.

But that hope was quickly snuffed out when the game ended with his crushing defeat so early into the game. Even Seijūrō's playing style changed. He no longer played a teaching game where he would poke, prod, and guide Tetsuya's moves; instead, he was only concerned with obtaining the swiftest and most absolute victory. That game was no longer a game but a show of power, and Tetsuya saw the gaping difference in theirs. Seeing that Tetsuya was a flounder, Seijūrō would be a great shark. He should have been disheartened, but instead, his wounded pride fueled his spirit, and he made a promise to beat Seijūrō someday.

Those days were the longest for Tetsuya. Seijūrō visited less often and talked even less; most of the time, he would just stare at nowhere in particular with a pensive look on his face. But despite that, Seijūrō never missed a move at shogi. Tetsuya became so immersed with their matches that he didn't notice the passing of seasons. He spent the entire year trying to beat the boy, but he never got any closer. He only felt that Seijūrō was drifting farther and farther away from him. Tetsuya realized that promises were a lot easier said than done.

...

That year, Seijūrō's friends only visited him once. It was during the Akashi's New Year celebration: a grand celebration that the head family of the Akashi family hosted every year where relatives and close friends were invited. The Generation of Miracles, or so they called themselves, were also invited by Seijūrō.

That night, even if all of the people that Tetsuya was fond of were inside the same gazebo, it only felt like an illusion of the long lost days that he yearned to return to. They all changed.

Aomine ignored him, Kise avoided the others despite his endless chatter, and Murasakibara would just brush him off, following Seijūrō like his shadow. There was a heavy sense of regret and weariness Tetsuya could feel pouring out in waves from Murasakibara's slumped form; something bad must have happened between Seijūrō and the purple-haired boy. Only Satsuki and Midorima did not change. But Satsuki wore a permanent frown for the whole night as she fretted over Aomine and the others, while Midorima only isolated himself further from the group.

The most notable change was in Seijūrō. He commanded the attention of every person in that group and demanded absolute subservience from them. Tetsuya took notice that the boy started using their given names: Ryōta, Daiki, Momoi, Shintarō, and Atsushi. He knew that the act of using one's given name was supposed to be a gesture of fondness, familiarity, and comfort, but the way Seijūrō addressed them was but another reminder of their gaping difference, of power, or of strength, Tetsuya didn't fully understood.

It was also that night that the Generation of Miracles made an oath:

"We will go to different high schools and join their respective basketball club. Then we will eliminate all the other players that stand in our way in order to show that the reign of the Generation of Miracles is supreme. Only then will we be able to go against each other with our real strength. May the strongest player win."

After that, Tetsuya was filled with despair, and left them.

. ...

Just when he thought that all hope was lost, the most unlikely person among Seijūrō's friends approached him: Midorima Shintarō.

He called hum out from a secluded spot close to the edge of the pond, a place where he knew Tetsuya was hiding nearby. When Tetsuya left earlier, the boy's gaze followed him until he lost the fish in that direction.

"Kuroko," he said, "It feels stupid talking to a fish, so you better listen." And so Tetsuya listened.

"Akashi has changed. The others have changed too, but that's their own problem. However, Akashi's case is different. There's actually two of them in one person, and each has his own personality. During his match with Murasakibara, the ability he calls 'Emperor Eye' activated. When it did, his other and more extreme personality took over."

Tetsuya also thought that the new Seijūrō was harsher, colder, and less forgiving.

"I don't think that his match with Murasakibara was the only cause for his change. My father works at the hospital where Akashi's mother is admitted. He told me that he's worried about him, and remembered that I'm his classmate and teammate." The green-haired boy shifted his glasses, a gesture Tetsuya learned was his way of showing discomfort. "Do you know what comatose is? Wait, never mind, that was a stupid question. Of course a fish wouldn't know."

If Tetsuya were human, he would've already told the boy to get on with his point; the boy was only trying to delay what he was hesitant to reveal. But Midorima was someone who rarely sought him out, and he felt that the boy was reluctant because it was a matter of great importance. So he waited for the boy to order his thoughts.

"Seijūrō's mother has been in coma since 12 years ago," he continued. "That's a very long time to be spent in that state. My father told me that Akashi's father decided to stop her treatment. When Akashi learned about it, he threatened his father that he would gouge out his eyes if her treatment were to be stopped. His father had no choice but to concede."

"Akashi either didn't believe his father, or in his panic, he became paranoid. He would visit his mother every day and stay with her until visiting hours were over. My father accompanied him at times when he was not busy. He thinks that Akashi's partly afraid that his father might try to do something behind his back, and is most likely afraid of losing his mother. And he's right; I saw his exhaustion during our club practices back then. The others didn't notice it, but because of what my father told me, I began to notice the signs."

"Then, before his duel with Murasakibara, his father ordered him to study in Kyōto. He told us that he was going to Rakuzan High. I heard from my father that Akashi asked him about the medical facilities in Kyōto. He's probably trying to get his mother transferred with him to Kyōto. But Akashi must have failed to persuade his father, because when I asked my father, he told me that he was sure that Mrs. Akashi is going to be staying in their hospital indefinitely."

"I think that his personal problems combined with the rising tension in the club made Akashi snap. Murasakibara's challenge was the last straw."

Then the boy paused, and turned to look around him to see if there was anyone nearby. And then he turned to look at the gazebo and was relieved to find that everyone in his group was still there. Then he turned back to the fish, and in a hushed voice he said, "Akashi's other personality is more extreme. It's his father's 'perfect vision' for his son. Starting from a young age, his father has already been training him and preparing him to inherit his business. This new Akashi is his dreams come true."

"But as a... as a friend..." he paused, now shifting his glasses, "A-anyway, as a concerned teammate and classmate, I want to bring back the real Akashi." Then he stopped shifting his glasses, and as he turned to him, his face hardened with resolve. "Next year, I will beat him, and I will show him the meaning of defeat. I feel that the only way I could do it, and the only way I could get through him, is through my basketball."

"Akashi once told us that you can grant wishes. I won't wish that you'd grant me victory; that would defeat the purpose. I want to defeat him with my own strength. But if there is one that I want to make, I want you to bring him back."

At those words, Tetsuya's little heart tightened. The thought that Midorima was another boy that he would be deceiving filled him with sorrow.

"Akashi told me that he will be bringing you with him to Kyōto. He is still attached with you. I'll watch over Mrs. Akashi, so," he paused, "please take care of Akashi for us." Midorima said the last part with haste, and he quickly left the area slightly flustered.

Tetsuya felt that this conversation was very hard for the boy, and he admired him for his courage. He was relieved that Seijūrō still had good friends despite everything that had happened. The weight he thought he was carrying alone seemed to lighten. Fireworks soon lit up the sky in celebration of the coming year, yet even though it was the same, they looked brighter than the previous years.

Seijūrō's friends didn't visit him again. Spring came, and so did the day of their move to Kyōto, but instead of grief, Tetsuya felt his strength renewed. Midorima's words filled him with hope. He felt that he could take on Seijūrō once more.

...

Tetsuya's new home in Kyōto was larger and far more beautiful than his previous home. The fish had new koi carps and goldfishes as his new neighbors and a few local frogs as frequent visitors. There was also a wide array of flowers and trees dotted along the banks which bore red, purple, and pink flowers; he later learned that their names: from carmellias, shrub peonies, and blossoms from cherry trees to the lone wisteria tree on the pond's inlet. Tetsuya thought that it was unlike him to appreciate the scenery, but they reminded him of Seijūrō's odd-hair-colored friends that they had left back in Tōkyō. A sudden pang of longing hit his tiny chest; it was only his first day in his new home, and he was already missing them.

He was glad that Kana went with them; she was a familiar and comforting presence for Tetsuya, especially now that Seijūrō was changed. There were two other servants that lived with them, but they were all new faces to the fish. The first one was an old gardener who would come in the early hours of the morning and would greet Tetsuya with a loud and cheerful 'Good mornin', fish!', before leaving at dusk with another cheerful 'Have a good evenin', fish!' Tetsuya could hear him humming and whispering random gossip to the plants every time he took care of those near the pond.

The second one was the house keeper; a lady older than Kana who was said to have served the Akashi even since Mr. Masaomi was just a teen. She was stiff woman who would have nothing to do with him or the other fishes unless it was to feed them on the gardener's day off. Still, no one treated him like the intelligent fish he was that Seijūrō was so proud of.

Ever since they moved to Kyōto, Kana started reminiscing of past days when she once served lady Shiori in that very same house. Sometimes, she would take a long walk in the garden with a wistful look on her face during late afternoons while waiting for the young master to arrive from school. Other times, she would tell stories to the fishes in the pond.

"This garden was the lady's favorite, you know?" said she. Her accent had grown thick ever since they arrived at Kyōto, but Tetsuya found that it sounded more natural on her. "She's gotten into a bit of gardenin' ever since she took those fancy classes about tea and flowers. She picked the flowers in this garden herself, and ol' Mr. Hayato was our gardener back then, still is now. I fancy that he's got a couple of stories to tell. He's pretty fond of her. 'She's like mah daughter,' says he. Now, his daughter is gone," She smiled sadly.

"But I heard she was a real beauty in these parts. The Lady Shiori is a real beauty, with her eyes like rubies and all; the prettiest woman I know. And she's the goodest soul, bless her! It's a good thing that the young master took after her, not that Mr. Akashi's not real handsome, he is mind you. But, he could be too stiff. I still don't approve of what he did to the young master, and what he almost did to the lady. He's a lonely man, and I pity him; anyone would be if his wife's a sleepin' for years and years. I couldn't blame him for wanting to move on and all, and even to another woman, but to abandon Lady Shiori when she's still fightin' for her dear life- it makes no sense!" she cried indignantly. "Ah, but enough of that, it only makes me mad. It's good that they broke up, for the young master's sake."

Tetsuya didn't fully understand about the workings of human societies, but he at least knew that most humans were monogamous, and as such, he understood Kana's anger.

"But where was I? Dear me, I keep on jumpin' all over the place, and now I'm lost! Ah right, the Lady Shiori. She picked the flowers in this garden," she said again. She had the tendency to prattle and recount things over once or thrice, if you didn't stop her, which the fish unfortunately couldn't, so he was given a second account about the lady's beauty and dignified manner in more exaggerated words.

"Her favorite are the spider lilies, like her eyes I say, but rubies are a better fit. But they don't grow now; they grow on autumn. She loves the wisteria in spring! That's why Mr. Akashi ordered to have one specially grown over there. She also loved to have picnics with us under that tree. She loves tofu dishes; the young master picked that up from her. Ah, but those were happy times."

"I dunno why Mr. Akashi chose me, a simple lass from Fukui, but I am glad he did. The lady was really showing when I arrived. The young master was quite the kicker when he was in her stomach. The dear boy," she sighed, "He used to deal with much mischief, one time putting bugs on my pocket, and another making planes out of Mr. Akashi's papers, and even plucking Lady Shiori's flowers, but that all changed when the lady's gotten into _that_ accident. Poor lad, poor lad," she shook her head, and sighed again, a long drawn one filled with weariness. Then she got up, dusted off her plain kimono, and went off to prepare dinner.

Time and again, Kana would recount old stories from the past, some new while most just revamped versions of stories once told. It proved a good distraction for Tetsuya when he was not thinking of shogi, and he also liked Kana's stories, especially when it was about Seijūrō's childhood. In time, Tetsuya would also notice how the gardener would drop wistful remarks to the flowers every now and then of how 'The lady would've like to see this,' or 'This was one of the lady's favorite'.

It was through their stories that gave Tetsuya an idea on how he might melt Seijūrō's icy demeanor. One fine morning, he gathered the blossoms that fell on the pond and pushed them on the edge nearest to the shogi board. He hoped that, just like how the flowers reminded him of his friends, it would remind Seijūrō of his mother who dearly loved those flowers.

But it turned out that the task was more complicated than he imagined. The gardener was a very meticulous man despite his age, and his pile of blossoms was cleaned out before Seijūrō could see them. So day after day, the fish would repeat the process of gathering different flowers and different combinations. Day after day, it would either get cleared by the gardener, or get ignored by Seijūrō. Until one day, Seijūrō said, "Tetsuya, if you find the pond dirty, I can ask the servants to clean it for you." After Seijūrō said that, Tetsuya stopped gathering flowers.

Days passed; the cherry trees stopped blossoming, and spring gave way to summer. The water in his pond grew warmer, and the flowers Tetsuya once knew faded with the spring. In their place bloomed another kind, blossoming in pink, blue, purple, white, and yellow. Seijūrō's club activities also grew heavier because of the upcoming Inter-High tournament. Tetsuya became lonelier.

It was the season when he first met Seijūrō's friends three summers ago, and because of that, summers had a special place in his tiny heart. He secretly hoped that Seijūrō's friends would visit, even if it was mere wishful thinking on his part. He didn't know how far away Tōkyō was, but he knew it was a distance that slow human feet couldn't hope to travel for a day, or week. He wished that he could swim to Tōkyō, but the reaches of his pond was far too short. So he contented himself with gathering things that reminded him of them, mostly flowers and beautiful stones. They were nothing compared to the real thing, but at least they comforted him, especially the thing he dubbed as "Midorima's leaf".

Then one day, a chance came. Kana told him that Seijūrō's team was going to compete in Tōkyō, and she secretly confided to them that she was worried because it will be the first time for Seijūrō to travel so far without a chaperon. The fish didn't know how basketball matches work, or why Seijūrō had to travel far just to play, but he knew that this might be his chance to get through him.

That night, he waited by the shogi board for Seijūrō to make his move. When the boy arrived, he placed a lotus leaf near Seijūrō. "Midorima's leaf," he had called it. It caught Seijūrō's attention, and Tetsuya inwardly cheered at his success. He went back to his hiding place and brought back his other special things one by one: A blue hydrangea, "Aomine's flower"; a pink lotus flower, "Satsuki's flower"; a yellow freesia, "Kise's flower"; and a purple iris, "Murasakibara's flower". Lastly, he took Seijūrō's king tile and placed it among them. The boy stared and studied the things Tetsuya brought.

"I can think of only one group of people who sports such ridiculous colors," he said. "You miss them. Strange, I didn't even think that fishes were capable of such sentiments; but you have always been an exception and beyond expectation. I dare say that you think more like a human than a fish." Then, Tetsuya witnessed a sight he hadn't seen in since two years ago.

Seijūrō smiled.

It was small, but it was there nonetheless. "You'll see them soon. I shall invite them over the spring break after I show them that I am the strongest, that I am absolute. Rakuzan shall reign supreme this Winter Cup." With that, the boy left. Tetsuya didn't know whether to feel relieved or dread over Seijūrō's declaration.

...

It was four days before Seijūrō was leaving for Tōkyō that an unexpected visitor arrived. Kise Ryōta, who worked part time as a model, was in Kyōto as a replacement model for a male's yukata photo shoot. When Tetsuya saw him again, he noticed immediately that this Kise Ryōta had slightly changed; there was a little shine in his eyes that wasn't there before.

"Kurokocchi, did you miss me? Akashicchi told me to wait for him here," said Kise. "It looks like he's really busy. I guess I'll have to practice double once I get back home, or I won't beat Akashicchi at this rate. So, how have you been?"

Tetsuya was very excited. He swam to the surface and made a loud splash.

Kise laughed. "Looks like you're doing well." Then Kise spied Tetsuya's shogi board and picked up a piece. "You guys are still at it? So have you beaten Akashicchi yet? No?" Kise chuckled. "I'm not surprised. Akashicchi is on a different league of his own."

Then, Kise grew pensive. "You know, I finally experienced my first defeat in basketball. That guy, Kagamicchi, I feel that he's the same as us. He reminds me of Aominecchi before he discovered his talent." Then he smiled. "I remember you like Aominecchi, right? I think, if you meet Kagamicchi, you'll like him too."

It was then that Kana came and announced that the young master had just returned from school before leaving.

"It's already past six, and on a summer break. Does Akashicchi always return so late? You must have been lonely, Kurokocchi. Wanna live at my place instead?"

Tetsuya wanted to say yes. "_Kise-kun lives in Tōkyō, and everyone else is there. I want to see them_," he thought. But, he didn't want to leave Seijūrō alone, so he decided that Seijūrō should join them too, even if he was scared of the current Seijūrō.

Then, with an impeccable timing, Seijūrō arrived. "I apologize that I have kept you waiting."

"No problem, Akashicchi," answered Kise.

"Also, you can't have Tetsuya," said Seijūrō, and his lips quirked a minuscule upward. "He won't appreciate your little fish tanks."

"I was just kidding! So mean, Akashicchi."

"Why are you here, Ryōta?" asked Seijūrō.

"I was in the neighborhood, so I figured that I should warn you ahead."

At this, Seijūrō raised a single brow. "Warn me, you say?"

"There's a new team rising, and it's a real threat," answered Kise, now serious. "It's Seirin. You should watch out for that team, especially their power forward, number 10, Kagami Taiga."

"You overestimate them," said Seijūrō plainly.

"You shouldn't underestimate them. Kagamicchi is like us. More specifically, he's like Aomine. And he's got an ability that could match ours: Air Walk. He even defeated Midorimacchi during the preliminaries."

Seijūrō's eyes widened a fraction, but it was not noticeable to those who weren't as observant as Tetsuya. "Shintarō lost?" he frowned and was clearly displeased. "I thank you for taking your time to warn me, but it's all pointless. I am absolute, and no upstart can defy me. My victory is assured."

Kise sighed. "Well, I better get going. I only came here for that, and to see Kurokocchi. I have to catch the first train tomorrow or Kasamatsu-senpai will kill me if I'm late. He didn't like that I suddenly took two days off for the shoot."

"The next time we'll meet will be on Winter Cup," said Seijūrō.

"Yeah. I won't lose, even if it's against you, Akashicchi." With that, Kise got up and left. Tetsuya would not be seeing Kise, or any other of Seijūrō's friends from Teikō, for the rest of the year.

...

When Tetsuya heard that Midorima lost, he was suddenly filled with dread. If Midorima was defeated, then he wouldn't be able to change back Seijūrō. A sense of urgency filled him that he had to find a way to bring back Seijūrō, even if he had to do it alone.

A week passed, and Seijūrō still remained unchanged after he got back from Tōkyō. Tetsuya was slowly becoming more desperate.

...

The days were ending sooner once again. Frigid breezes drove away the warmth of Summer, the star-pointed maple leaves turned red, and the spider lilies that Mrs. Akashi loved bloomed. It was the season that reminded Tetsuya so much of Seijūrō: the only human who truly understood him. He still had not found a way to change Seijūrō back, but if experiencing defeat was what changed Kise, he thought that perhaps he could beat Seijūrō at something. The only thing he could think of was their shogi matches, and his promise to beat him.

Game after game, he experienced a crushing defeat. Having never won a single game, he thought that he could bear with the loss. But, he realized that the more determined he was the more that defeat sapped his will. Hopelessness took him as he faced the fact that shogi would never be a game he could win against Seijūrō. Tetsuya then grew to hate the clacking sound of the shogi tiles.

When the last of the spider lilies started to wilt, Tetsuya became more anxious. He fervently wished for a miracle, but he didn't know what kind of miracle he wanted. He badly wanted to win against Seijūrō, but he also wanted the old Seijūrō to come back. If he wanted the old Seijūrō back, he would have to find a way to cure his mother. If only he could have granted Seijūrō's wish, none of this would happen, or so he thought.

That night, he fell into despair. He found that one of his scales fell off... and he broke. When he came to himself, he found that he had snapped one of the koi in half and had eaten the other half. But avoiding eating fish for as long as he could remember, he couldn't find himself to finish the other half. He was stricken by how easy his resolve was broken, and he felt sickened at how he was reduced to such miserable state. Then, a sudden thought came to his fey mind that Seijūrō would have been proud if he had seen it. Seijūrō was right; his words were absolute.

. ...

The next morning, when Seijūrō came to make his move for their shogi game, he found the head of the koi and a wilted spider lily blossom.

"Tetsuya!" Seijūrō snapped. "What is the meaning of this? This isn't like you at all. Stop it." Then he took a sharp breath, and let it out slowly. "Whatever you're trying to do, just stop it. Behave like a fish for once."

When he heard that, Tetsuya's world crumbled. If this was the price of attachment, then he would rather not experience it again. After that morning, Tetsuya didn't show himself to Seijūrō for the rest of autumn.

When winter came, and the last of the red leaves fell along with the last reminders of Seijūrō, Tetsuya realized that he couldn't give-up on the boy after all. So he took up shogi once more. He knew that playing shogi was far from being fish-like, but he didn't want to lose his last connection with the boy he once loved.

He was greatly surprised when he saw that the position of the tiles in the board remained the same as the day he stopped playing. And he was more surprised and mostly relieved when Seijūrō answered his move the next day. He finally decided that even if this Seijūrō was not the Seijūrō he loved, he could live with it as long as it was Seijūrō. He could learn to accept that, and perhaps even love that Seijūrō. He no longer wished to change back Seijūrō; he decided live and adapt with the changes.

…

It was shortly after they reconciled that Seijūrō had to stay for a week in Tōkyō for Winter Cup. He lost some of his scales because of his last ordeal, but when he decided to accept the new Seijūrō, he was starting to feel better. So he decided to wait patiently for Seijūrō's return, to welcome him back like the old times.

While Seijūrō was gone, he used his time to polish up his shogi. And when he got tired of the game, his thoughts would always wander back to Seijūrō and his friends in Tōkyō; he was unfortunately still unaware that Kise and Murasakibara no longer lived in Tōkyō.

Yet he would continuously wonder, would they meet there? Were they going to play together like they used to? He couldn't wait for spring to come; then he'll be able to see them again. When he would, he would have to find a way to tell Midorima that there was no need to change Seijūrō back. He also decided that, if he could accept the new Seijūrō, then he would accept the others no matter how changed they were.

The week quickly passed, and Seijūrō came back. Tetsuya rushed to the edge of the pond to welcome him, but to his surprise, Seijūrō never came out of his room.

Something was very wrong, and Tetsuya suddenly felt a pit of dread in his stomach. Various questions came into his mind: What could have happened during the Winter Cup? Did he lose? Did he not get along with his friends? Did something bad happen to his mother? Did his father do something bad?

He felt so powerless once more. He wanted to do something for Seijūrō, and reassure the boy that he would always be there for him no matter what had happened, no matter how different he became. He loved the boy. He was in the dark before Seijūrō found him and taught him that he could do things impossible. He treated him like a friend. And he showed him the world outside his pond through his stories about his day. Through Seijūrō's words, he had already stepped outside with Seijūrō. It was always Seijūrō. Now that he had seen the light, he would be blind without Seijūrō. If only he could get the boy to open up, and if only he could show the boy that he cared.

And he could. A sudden thought came to him like a winning move to a shogi match. He could give Seijūrō the only thing that was his own: his scales. Seijūrō told him once as the boy rid the barnacles from his body that his scales were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Tetsuya could only take pride about his unnatural scales because Seijūrō loved them.

. ...

The next morning, Seijūrō found, near the shogi board, a pair of the most beautiful scales he had ever seen. His eyes widened, and his golden eye flickered. Then, he rushed and waded into the pond, holding Tetsuya's sides.

"You fool," Seijūrō cried.

Seijūrō broke down and cried. It was the second time that Tetsuya had seen him cry. He felt the boy's hands tremble, and never had he seen the boy so shaken. So, he let him cry as he was held, even if Seijūrō's hands were uncomfortably warm for the fish.

When Seijūrō's tears finally stopped, he saw that his golden eye was gone. The old Seijūrō was finally back.

...

That day, the fish felt that he was the happiest fish alive. The boy and his fish spent the whole day talking. The boy talked to the fish about everything that happened. Everything since the day he started growing distant, and the fish was very glad to listen. Their talk continued until past midnight, a time that was special to both the boy and the fish. Even if the fish's scales continued to shed, that time, they had the world only to themselves.


	4. Part 4: His Wish

**A/N: **The last of the four parts that makes up the main story. There will be another chapter for the epilogue.

And again, many thanks for** AokazuSei** for the beta reading this work.

* * *

**Part 4: His Wish**

When spring came, Seijūrō made good of his promise to Tetsuya. He invited his friends back in Teikō for a three-day vacation, and to everyone's surprise, he even invited Seirin's Kagami Taiga. Kuroko, on the other hand, didn't know whether to feel excited because he could finally meet the person who Kise regarded highly, or to feel vindictive because it was this same person who defeated Seijūrō and his friends. But it turned out that he didn't have to choose. Kagami Taiga got along well with everyone, with a special exception of Midorima who had always been a little socially stunted. The fish grew to like Kagami. He thought that if he was as fun to tease as Aomine, then surely he was also a good person.

If Kagami were to be asked, he would say that he was _frightened_ of the fish, which was by now a meter long and half-a-meter wide. It would often pop out of nowhere from the pond and at times display its jagged teeth, which he still didn't think was a form of greeting despite what everyone said otherwise.

He actually thought Kuroko was a ghost fish at first, like the Flying Dutchman that loitered around the dead areas of the seas, or the Loch Ness monster that resided in Scottish lakes. He believed that Kuroko Tetsuya was a specter fish that haunted Akashi Seijūrō's pond. He justified that Akashi's sadistic streak could have earned him a vindictive ghost or two. It didn't calm his nerves that he was also scared of Seijūrō who seemed to always have a pair of scissors somewhere nearby, including the garden shears. It was no surprise that he thought that the fish had developed a mean sadistic streak since it was Seijūrō's pet, ghost fish or not. If given a choice, he wouldn't be there, but Seijūrō _ordered_ him to come, so he had to.

"_They have all changed_," Tetsuya thought. "_But it doesn't feel bad, like the last time. Rather, it feels very pleasant._"

It was when Seijūrō suggested a game of basketball for that afternoon that Tetsuya saw their eyes gleamed with barely-contained excitement and love for the game.

"_This is how they should be,_" he thought. Then, a sudden longing came to him that he also wanted to play this basketball game with them and share their passion for the sport.

As the friends frolicked and joked around, mostly at Kagami's expense, Tetsuya felt that he was the happiest but also the loneliest fish. His most beloved human friends were in plain sight, yet their distance seemed farther than the distance between Kyōto and Tōkyō.

"_What is this unbearable loneliness?_" the fish thought. "_They are here, and I am not alone. I am definitely happy, yet there is this uncomfortable feeling that's more unbearable than how I first felt when we moved here._"

But deep inside, he knew that he already had the answer: he grew to love them.

...

It was before dawn on the last day of their stay that Midorima finally approached the fish. The fish already anticipated this during their whole stay, though he should have expected that the green-haired boy would wait until the very last moment to approach him. Like the previous time, the boy stayed at the edge hesitating, and would have continued to do so until the sun rose, if Tetsuya had not coaxed him into talking.

"Kuroko," he started at last after much splashing around from the fish's part, "This feels more ridiculous than before, so don't make me repeat it."

The fish wanted to roll his eyes and tell the boy that even if he wanted to, he couldn't.

"I'm not sure whether you can actually grant wishes, or if it was because I made a wish, but I'm glad that Akashi is back. I think that you're partly the reason why he's back. I saw his pendant. Those were your scales right? He wears it even in his sleep. You got through him. He's back, and you have my gratitude."

"Akashi is not the only one who changed. We all did, for the better I think. Kise is more passionate about the game now. Aomine also remembered his love for basketball. Murasakibara is learning to have fun. Satsuki is back to her cheerful self now that she doesn't have to worry about Aomine. And I-," he paused and shifted his glasses. Tetsuya guessed that the boy was about to say something embarrassing again, so he waited with anticipation.

"Um, I guess I'm also learning to have fun playing with my team." Then he paused and studied a fish as if he was expecting some reaction, but the fish just made water waves to his direction. "I-I'm only saying this because Akashi told us that you missed us," the flustered teen defended.

Even if Midorima claimed that Cancer and Aquarius weren't compatible, Tetsuya still considered the boy as one of his favorite humans.

Then the boy cleared his throat. "When I said that Akashi is back, what I mean is Akashi's old personality resurfaced; but the other Akashi is also still there. I think it's more appropriate to say that their personalities merged and became the current Akashi. I think this Akashi is the real him, the whole of the two parts. He's stronger than he ever was now.

"Also, when Akashi said you could grant wishes, my father told me about his circumstances. I knew that the first thing Akashi would ask for is for his mother's recovery. But I think Akashi is slowly accepting his mother's condition, so you don't need to worry about it anymore."

"What I want to say is, you don't need to worry about him, about us, or about anything. Akashi told me about your shedding problem. We think that the stress got you over the last years. I'll also do my best to find you a cure. So... you better take good care of yourself. Akashi is worried about you. He is very fond of you, and he'll be devastated if he'll lose you."

Tetsuya wanted to reassure the boy that he wasn't going anywhere. Seijūrō was his home, and he would never leave him. But a part of him was telling him that he was fading away. He could feel it in his bones, and it was not just the stress that was causing it. He did not know what was happening to him. He was afraid, and more often than not, he felt the need to be near Seijūrō.

"I-" he paused and corrected himself, "We'll also be sad if we lose you. Satsuki likes you. She keeps on saying that you're the most fascinating creature. As for Kise, I think he wants you to be his pet. His sister has a large aquarium, but it's nothing compared to this pond, so don't accept it. Aomine and Murasakibara also think that you're... unique. As for me, I-" he suddenly stuttered. "Um, I think of you as- as a... a f-"

Then suddenly the door to Seijūrō's room opened, and out came Seijūrō himself. The two scales of his pendant glinted with the first soft rays of the peeking sun, and Tetsuya saw that it was indeed beautiful.

"Shintarō, why are you up so early? Is there a problem?" Seijūrō asked. Even if he had just woken up, there was not a sign of fatigue on his face.

"A fish. I suddenly want fish for breakfast," Midorima quickly covered.

Seijūrō stared dubiously at the boy. "You aren't thinking of eating Tetsuya, are you?"

"N-no! Of course not! I'm just asking him about his fish preference." The boy shifted his glasses and trying to figure out how he could escape this awkward and embarrassing situation.

"We all know that he doesn't eat fish," Seijūrō just continued to stare, further unnerving Midorima.

"L-let's go back inside. Oha Asa is calling me."

"It's not even six yet, Shintarō." Though Seijūrō acquiesced, and they went inside, but not without greeting his pet a 'good morning' first. The fish knew that Seijūrō was only teasing Midorima. He also knew that he had, in fact, listened to Midorima's speech; the tell-tale smirk was an obvious giveaway.

"_A friend,_" Tetsuya finished Midorima's sentence from before. Fishes can't smile, but he knew that if he could, he would have been sporting the largest one right now. He thought that having spent too much time with humans, he was becoming more human-like than fish.

Later on, only Akashi and Midorima was not surprised as to why Midorima was served a _special _breakfast that consisted of sardines and miso soup, while the rest of them had sausages, bacon, and eggs. Seijūrō tried to hide his smile, while Midorima tried to hide his scowl, and from his pond, Tetsuya couldn't laugh even if he badly wanted to.

...

The spring that followed was the hardest time for Seijūrō. Tetsuya's scales continued to fall, and he grew weaker each day. Seijūrō had already called a fish specialist to check on him, but they couldn't find what was wrong with the fish. There was nothing wrong with the pond, since the rest of the fishes were perfectly fine, with the exception of Tetsuya.

However, they offered him their services, and in case something unfortunate happened to the fish, they asked to take custody of the fish's remains. Seijūrō politely declined. He knew that they only wanted to get their hands on the rare fish. Midorima visited again during their ordeal and told them that he could also find no cure. The green-haired boy wouldn't admit that he was worried, but the dark circles under his eyes told Seijūrō otherwise.

The time came when Tetsuya could barely move. Seijūrō requested an extended leave from his school, and perhaps it was because he was a stellar student that he easily got his leave approved, provided that he continued to work on his homework, problem sets, special exams, and papers during the leave.

That was how Tetsuya met Mibuchi Reo, Seijūrō's upperclassman and basketball teammate, who would drop by every day after school to hand over Seijūrō's academic load, and take the finished workload in the morning.

"I appreciate the troubles you go through just to deliver my work, but wouldn't it be more convenient for you if one of my classmates delivered them instead?" asked Seijūrō one day.

"It's no problem, Sei-chan. Besides, I want to check up on you too. We can't have our dearest Sei-chan getting sick now, can we?" came Mibuchi's reply. Tetsuya was both glad and relieved that Seijūrō also had great friends in Kyōto, ones that loved Seijūrō. Those days, Tetsuya was slowly accepting his circumstance. His only concerns centered around Seijūrō after he was gone.

...

Seijūrō almost never left Tetsuya's side during those days. He would talk with to the fish and tell him stories of fairy tales and fables with other intelligent animals as characters, hoping that the fish could relate. When he could think of no story, he would go back to the past and reminisce their times, and the funny times with his friends. And when he was done and could think no more, he would quietly sit beside the shogi board and play a game by himself; Tetsuya had grown too weak that he couldn't even move the tiles anymore. He would offer shogi advice every now and then if he encountered a familiar shogi problem, but other than that, he was silent, and only the sound of clacking wood against the shogi board resonating through the water remained.

Tetsuya learned to love the sound of the tiles once again, because they would whisper to him that Seijūrō was nearby. The cherry blossoms faded and spring came to an end, and Seijūrō would still be seen together with the fish.

Finally, the night came when Tetsuya knew that should he go into a fish-like sleep once more, he would never be able to wake up again. Seijūrō also came to the same realization when he saw Tetsuya's shallow breathing and the few remaining scales, too few for his liking. Seijūrō's chest tightened at the sight, and it was suddenly hard for him to breathe.

"Tetsuya," he called, but the fish was already too weak to answer. So he waded through the pond instead, uncaring of how his kimono was getting wet, and held the fish close.

Tetsuya's sight was already very blurred, and his hearing impaired, so he could not see or hear Seijūrō approach. He was trying to focus on the sounds of the shogi tiles, but when it stopped, he thought that Seijūrō had left.

He wanted Seijūrō to continue playing shogi, to hear that very dear sound of the tiles. He only wanted Seijūrō to be there, with him. He was very disheartened when the sound stopped. But then, he suddenly felt two very warm hands on each of his side. Seijūrō was embracing him.

He used to think that human hands were hot, uncomfortably hot. It was still very hot for his fish body, but now he felt only relief and comfort when he felt the touch of his dearest human friend.

"It was also a night like this when I named you, wasn't it? How befitting that we should part on this endless night." Seijūrō's voice sounded close and whispered, but strained. "Seven years is too short. They told me that you could have easily lived up to twice your age now. Have I unwittingly caused you to diminish untimely?"

Tetsuya wanted to reassure him that it wasn't his fault, that it was some inevitable fate. But by then, he realized that he was no longer scared. Maybe it was because Seijūrō was loved by many that he could leave at peace, or maybe it was because Seijūrō was at his side that it gave him courage to face what was coming.

"When my father bought you for me, I thought I would just use you to grant my wish and get my mother back. But now, you've become so dear and precious to me. I couldn't and wouldn't make the wish. It would be too cruel of me if I were to use you. I still wish to see my mother get better, that is and will be my foremost wish until she wakes up."

Tetsuya wanted to tell him that if he could, he would make his wish come true, and he needed only to name it.

"But I will not ask it from you. You are no wish-maker, but my dearest friend. I will endure until I see the day that she would open her eyes. I will grant that wish myself."

"I have been selfish, and I have caused you too many grievances. It was only when you gave me your scales that I realized that I've hurt you and the people around me who mattered. You reminded me that there's a fool who would willingly sacrifice so much for my sake, that I am not alone and can never truly be as long as there is at least one who still loves me. When I suffer, all the people close to me also do, and likewise, when they suffer, I do. That is, perhaps, the price we had to pay for such precious bonds."

Then he chuckled weakly. "Friendship is a very mysterious thing. It multiplies our laughter, and abates our sorrow." Then he reached for his sleeve and took out a pendant, which Tetsuya couldn't clearly see, but if he could he would have known that the pendant was one of his scales that he had given to the boy.

"You gave me two scales: a pair; _you_ and _I_. Therefore, it is only right that I give to you the other half as it is rightfully yours. We are pair: partners, rivals, and best friends, kindred souls despite being different species. That was what you wanted to convey, wasn't it?"

Then, despite his tears that started to fall, Seijūrō smiled. "We are an odd pair: a man and a fish, but we made the impossible happen. No story of men would tell of this strange friendship between us."

Then, Seijūrō took the pendant and placed it around Tetsuya's fin. "Now we match. I won't let you ever be alone again."

And Tetsuya wanted to tell the boy that he doesn't want Seijūrō to feel alone ever again, that if he could have one wish, he'd be with Seijūrō until the end of his days.

"So don't leave me," Seijūrō choked, now openly crying. "If I can truly have one wish, then I want to see you well again, at my side. So please," he begged, "Stay with me, Tetsuya."

And suddenly, Tetsuya felt afraid. He was afraid of leaving Seijūrō. Seven years was too short of a time to be with Seijūrō. He wanted to experience more of the world with Seijūrō. If fish could cry, Tetsuya thought that he undoubtedly would.

…

That was the longest night for Seijūrō and Tetsuya. For the longest time, Seijūrō sat at the edge of the pond holding Tetsuya close. Kana saw them like that and had no heart to break them apart, so she just silently draped a blanket across her young master's shoulder and gave him a warm cup of cocoa.

Seijūrō spent the rest of the night reminiscing with Tetsuya all the years they have gone together, until he could keep his eyes open no longer, and sleep took him at last. And Tetsuya, with a last glimpse of Seijūrō's blurred figure, finally gave in to sleep.

...

It was already two hours past midnight when a sleeping Kana was woken up by the ringing phone at the living room.

"_Now who might that be?_" she thought. "_Must be important if they had to call at this hour._"

Her roommate, the old housekeeper of the mansion, also woke up. But Kana told her that she'll take care of the call and sent her back to sleep. She wrapped her blanket around her and left the servant's quarters, quietly maneuvering through the dark halls until she was in front of the ringing phone. She was suddenly awake with alarm when she saw the caller ID displayed Midorima's name.

"Hello, Midorima-san? This is Kana. Is everything alright?"

There was a pause at the other end of the line. "_Good evening, Kana. Yes, everything is fine. Is Akashi there?_"

Kana sighed in relief. "Don't you think it's a little too late for a ' good evening'?"

"_Ah, I'm sorry for calling at this hour_," answered Midorima.

Kana chuckled. "Alright young man, you're off the hook this time. You called to check on Seijūrō-bocchan?"

"_Y-yes_," Midorima stuttered. "_Can I speak with him?_"

"Just a moment. I'll see if he's still up." She put the call on hold and softly padded through the wooden hallway towards the back door. She changed to her outdoor slippers, and silently opened the shoji door, fearing for a moment that she might have woken up the strict housekeeper.

But she soon went out to porch, rounded the corner to her left, and went to the garden. When she reached the pond, she saw that Seijūrō was already asleep and his blanket had fallen. She picked it up and draped it across Seijūrō again. She took a glance at the fish her young master was still holding and saw that it was very still. Kana teared up and pity swelled in her heart for her young master. She couldn't wake her master now only for him to see his dearest pet dead.

She silently went back to the living room and wiped her tears. It wouldn't do to also have Seijūrō's friend worried. "Hello, Midorima-san? I'm afraid he's already asleep."

"_Asleep? Really? I can't imagine him sleeping through this._"

Kana smiled. "My thoughts exactly. But he's been tired these days. I think we should let him-" but she stopped mid-sentence because she suddenly heard the leaves outside rustling loudly, and the shoji screens rattling. Her eyes widened, and all her thoughts turned to her young master. She dropped the phone and immediately rushed to the garden.

...

Midorima couldn't sleep. Akashi called him earlier that day, and he sounded so broken when he told him the grave news; that it might be Tetsuya's last day. He had begged him to tell him how to save Tetsuya, but he couldn't answer. He had no answer to give.

It was already past two when he finally gave in and dialed Akashi's number. If it was truly Tetsuya's last day, then he knew it was going to be a long night. If Tetsuya was already gone, then Akashi would need someone. Midorima didn't want Akashi to be broken again; he couldn't stand to watch it. When Akashi didn't answer his phone, he quickly dialed his home number, fearing that he might be too late. It took a second call before someone finally answered.

"_Hello, Midorima-san? This is Kana. Is everything alright?_" Kana sounded worried. Was he too late? Dread settled in his stomach, and he suddenly want to know Akashi's state.

"Good evening, Kana. Yes, everything is fine. Is Akashi there?"

"_Don't you think it's a little too late for a 'good evening'?_" Now Kana sounded amused, and Midorima was confused. Perhaps there was still time after all. Women really confused Midorima.

"Ah, I'm sorry for calling at this hour."

He heard a chuckle. "_Alright young man, you're off the hook this time. You called to check on Seijūrō-bocchan?_"

He blushed and stuttered out a "Yes…Can I speak with him?"

"_Just a moment. I'll see if he's still up_."

There was only silence at the other line. He kept his anxiousness at bay by browsing through his collection of lucky items on the shelf. When he was on his third row, the phone was picked up again.

"_Hello, Midorima-san? I'm afraid he's already asleep_." That surprised Midorima.

"Asleep? Really? I can't imagine him sleeping through this."

"_My thoughts exactly. But he's been tired these days. I think we should let him-_" Then there was a pregnant pause at the end of the other line.

"Hello? Kana, are you still there?" Then, he heard the phone being dropped. He was starting to get very worried, and alarmed.

"Kana? Hello? Kana!"

It was then that he saw an unnatural light reflected on his lucky items. His eyes widened, and he immediately turned to his window.

...

Momoi was reviewing and correcting her notes late into the night for Toou's upcoming basketball match in the Inter-High tournament. When she was finally done, she stood up and stretched her muscles, sore from sitting for too long. She went out to the balcony to have some fresh air before she would turn in for the night. The summer night was cool and crisp, and the stars shone brightly in the night sky. With the Inter-High tournament so close, she briefly wondered how everyone was doing.

And then she saw it.

...

Kise would toss and turn and would even move around when he slept, so he was used to falling off the bed. But this time, when he woke up after he fell, he saw a pale blue light emitted from his window. He moved and saw at the southwest direction, the sky seemed to open up about the size of his outstretched thumb. His eyes widened when he saw something pale and blue coming out from the opening.

He quickly ran to wake up everyone in the house.

...

All Aomine wanted to do was to sleep. Unfortunately, he did so poorly on his last exam, and coupled together with his poor attendance record, it was no surprise that he was forced to take the optional summer classes. That was how he found himself way past midnight working through numbers that made no sense to him.

He would rather take on his whole class on a game of basketball all by himself than do his algebra homework. He was about to grab the second page of his work sheet when suddenly a strong breeze sent it flying from his study table. He muttered a silent curse and stood up to close his windows, when suddenly he stopped dead.

Up in the night sky was a glowing orb of pale blue light that was shrinking and growing continuously. It reminded him of those urban legends about will-o-wisps and gho- something that he'd rather not name. The color drained from his face, and he fell with a "thud!"

He finally got his sleep.

...

Kagami just came back from the US, and he was still adjusting from the jetlag and different time zones. That was why he was out on the streets jogging around the neighborhood despite the fact that it was way past midnight. He had to exhaust himself if he wanted to sleep, which was fairly necessary since Inter-High preliminaries was starting in three- no, two days. When he finally felt the beginnings of exhaustion, he turned around to head back to his apartment.

That was when he saw it: a glowing orb of pale blue light suddenly grew and burst out a pillar of light that connected to the ground somewhere faraway.

He thought that the aliens that Americans loved to talk about had finally invaded their homeland. He ran as fast as he could back to his apartment. And no, he wasn't scared at all.

...

Reo was still up revising all the other club member's training schedule. Inter-High was around the corner, and with their captain on an extended leave, he was dumped with all of Akashi's work as his vice captain.

Ever since Akashi's leave, he had been struggling with his work on individual training programs, team schedules, club activities, training camp preparations, data collection on their opponents, analysis on that data, devising individual and team strategies, and even club budgeting! He seriously didn't know how Akashi could pull it off and still have time for the student council and his private lessons.

He heard the winds rustle loudly outside, but paid it no mind. He was busy. _Very_ busy.

Then, a sudden blinding flash of light came from outside his window and lit up his entire room. He finally paused from reading each of the club member's statistics, though he was reluctant to admit that he lingered longer on his Sei-chan's records.

One moment the room was flooded with light, and the next it was gone. He blinked. He didn't understand what just happened, or if it had really happened, so he resumed reading Hayama's profile.

He thought that he finally understood why his Sei-chan was a little mad inside.

...

Murasakibara was fast asleep when suddenly he was having a nightmare about his cakes and snacks chasing him, hell-bent on getting their revenge. He woke up sweating before turning to his window and catching a glimpse of something small outside, a strange pale blue light- or was it a large star- in the sky far away though it was slowly fading away. Somehow, the color reminded him of Aka-chin's fish.

He just went back to sleep.

...

Three years later, Akashi Shiori finally opened her eyes, but that is a tale that won't be told in this story.

...

Kana hurried to the garden. She was in such a rush that she even forget to change her slippers, which she mentally berated herself for later. She urgently needed to check on her young charge. When she reached there, a pale blue light was fading around Seijūrō's still figure. Kana's heartbeat thrummed loudly in apprehension. The light completely faded, and she slowly approached her young master. But what she saw made her stop.

At the edge of the pond and cradled by Seijūrō's sleeping figure was a sleeping boy, very much naked with the exception of a pendant around his neck, one that looked exactly the same as what her young master was currently wearing. His appearance was very similar to Seijūrō's, only paler and with a notable difference of their hair color.

The stranger's hair color was the exact same shade of blue as Tetsuya's eyes.


	5. Epilogue: Ever After

**A/N:** Thank you so much for all your reviews! I must admit, I became teary while reading them. And now, I must apologize because I won't be writing about Akashi's reaction (for good reasons). I hope the epilogue would be enough to make up for it

I made some of you cry last chapter (*cough* including myself *cough*), so now, I hope to make you laugh and/or smile. The extra parts are purely in dialogues, which is something I only tried once before. Since this is arranged in chronological order, the epilogue is at the end of the chapter after the extras.

Enjoy!

* * *

**EVER AFTER: The Many Difficulties in Akashi Seijūrō's Life**

...

**In Which Humans Make Funny Fishes**

"Seijūrō-kun, I want to swim."

"Once you've improved your walking skills, I'll take you to a public pool."

"No. I want to swim in the pond. Now."

"Even if our ponds are well-maintained, I do not want to risk you catching any disease."

"Seijūrō-kun, I've lived in those ponds for years, or did you forget that I used to be a fish?"

"...Fine. Here, let me help you to the pond."

.

"Tetsuya, are you sure you can swim?"

"Seijūrō-kun... you're asking a fish if it can swim?"

"You are no longer a fish."

"Well, I've been a fish far longer than human. I'm sure I'll manage."

"Alright."

"Here I go then..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Tetsuya? Are you sure you're alright?"

...

"Tetsuya, I only see you making bubbles. You are not swimming at all."

…

"Tetsuya, you're not moving."

…

"Tetsuya, why are you floating on your stomach?"

…

"...TETSUYA!"

.

.

.

"... Tetsuya... Tetsuya... Tetsuya! Open your eyes, Tetsuya."

"..."

"Tetsuya!"

*cough* * hack * *cough*

"Thank goodness..."

"Ah, good morning, Seijūrō-kun."

"Don't you _good-morning_ me! Dammit, I thought we lost you!"

"Seijūrō-kun, this is the first time I hear you curse."

"You fool! You scared me! You drowned!"

"I did?"

"Yes!"

"Strange. This is the first time I've experienced drowning."

"... I want to hit you with a fan right now, but I won't."

"I am relieved to hear that."

"You... "

"Seijūrō-kun."

"What?"

"It seems that I can no longer swim."

"Obviously."

"And it seems that I can no longer breathe under the water too."

"If you could, you wouldn't have drowned."

"It's funny. I think I'm the first fish I know who drowned."

"That's because you are no longer one. And it's not funny at all. You gave us all a scare. Besides, fishes can also drown if the water lacks-"

"But I think humans are funnier."

"...oxygen... what?"

"Humans. They have very long and thin fin- I mean, limbs. And they can't breathe underwater. Yet, they try to swim. It's not natural."

"Because there are times that we have to."

"Humans should just stick on land."

"You're just feeling bitter that you can't swim."

"Still, humans make funny fishes."

"It's because we are not fishes at all."

"..."

"..."

"Seijūrō-kun,"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"You should be."

...

**In Which Akashi Seijūrō Has No Sense Of Humor**

"Seijūrō-kun, Mibuchi-san told me that you've got no sense of humor. Is that true?"

"... Of course not. I have an impeccable sense of humor."

"Then, will you tell me a joke?"

"..."

"Seijūrō-kun?"

"... Fine. Here goes... Where do fish sleep?"

"Near the bottom of the water or in corals. That question is too simple, Seijūrō-kun."

"... In a seabed."

"Yes, seabeds are at the bottom of the sea after all."

"... It's supposed to be a pun."

"Should I laugh?"

"Yes."

"... Haha."

"You're not laughing at all."

"I am."

"You lie. Your face doesn't look like you're laughing at all."

"I'm not used to having a lot of facial muscle. But believe me, I am actually laughing."

"My good joke was wasted on you."

"..."

"Aha! Now you're laughing!"

"I'm not."

"I saw that little twitch of your mouth."

"Ah, I've been found out."

"Why you... *sigh* I shall ask Ryōta to teach you some expressions next time."

"Okay. I also think Kise-kun makes the most interesting faces."

"He does, doesn't he?"

"Also, I cannot imagine Seijūrō-kun making those faces Kise-kun makes."

"..."

"You should ask Kise-kun to teach you too."

"... Tetsuya!"

...

**In Which Seijūrō-kun Is Being A Pervert**

"Today, I'll be bringing you to the city. We need to buy you a lot of things, especially clothes. I want you to change into these clothes..."

"But I like this fur. It's warm and fluffy."

"It's not fur. It's a bath robe. You can't wear them out in the streets."

"Humans are so weird. You don't like to show your skin, but instead borrow different furs. I think Seijūrō-kun's skin is beautiful. You shouldn't hide it."

"Tetsuya, humans find it indecent to show a lot of their skin. That's a big part of the reason why we wear clothes."

"Alright. But I still don't get why I need to change. A lot of my skin is covered with this fur, so I see no problem."

"And again, it's not fur; it's a robe. Humans are expected to wear specific clothes for specific occasions. Wearing bath robes in malls is absolutely not allowed. Now stop complaining, and change."

"Why do you have to wear different furs? It makes no sense. I think humans should wear what they like. I didn't like the fur you made me wear when Mibuchi-san visited. It was not fluffy at all. I like this fur- robe better."

"Strip, or I'll do it for you."

"... I didn't know Seijūrō-kun is a pervert."

* thwack! *

"Just go and change."

"It seems that Seijūrō-kun is a sadist as well."

* thwack! *

"You're being ridiculous."

"I think Seijūrō-kun is enjoying this too much."

* thwack! *

"Stop hitting me with the fan. It hurts."

"Then stop with those obscene comments."

"I was joking."

" *sigh* Jokes aside, today will be your first time in the city. It's a very crowded place filled with humans. Stay close to me, or you might get lost."

"I don't get lost."

"You do. In fact, you've already gotten yourself lost seven times just inside the compound."

"I wasn't lost. I was having an adventure. Then you or the servants would suddenly appear and interrupt my adventures."

"We wouldn't if not for the fact that it was already very late at night and you haven't returned yet."

"Fishes are nocturnal."

"You are no longer a fish. You are expected to sleep when I sleep and wake-up when I do."

"Still, I wasn't lost."

"You were. And you know, you are such a hard person to find, Tetsuya, that we had to take out the dogs to sniff you out... which reminds me, we should take a dog with us in case you do get lost. Just imagining you getting curious and wandering about the mall is starting to give me a headache. Right now, I am sorely tempted to put a leash on you."

"...Seijūrō-kun is into bondage?"

* thwack! *

"Where did you pick up that crass language? I do not remember teaching you such inappropriate words."

"Ah. Aomine-kun dropped his colorful book in the pond back in Tōkyō. That time, I've been using it to practice reading the characters you taught me."

"... I should have known that Daiki was behind this. Listen, do not mention things like that again, especially in front of other people. They might think that we are engaging ourselves in questionable activities, which we are _not_. We are not _that_, and nor are we into _those_, okay?"

"You're right. We are not_ that_ or into_ those_. I think that an owner and pet relationship best describes us after all."

* thwack! *

"We'll have to fix that strange humor of yours once we get back."

.

.

.

* * *

**Epilogue**

Seijūrō woke up in the middle of the night and saw that the futon beside him was empty. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust before he saw and felt that the room was unnaturally brighter and colder. A chilly breeze swept past him, and he turned and saw that the shoji doors that led to the garden were fully opened.

"_It must be Tetsuya_," he thought.

He stood up and wrapped a blanket around him. He also took Tetsuya's carelessly discarded blanket, folded it neatly, and draped it across his arm. Then he went outside to search for his missing roommate.

It was not hard to find him; there was only one place that the former fish loved to stay on his midnight excursions, and that was the pond. He soon found him squatted at the edge of the pond quietly staring at the water. He went behind him and draped his blanket across the boy's shoulders.

"Is there anything interesting about the pond tonight?" he asked.

Tetsuya turned to look him and then turned back to the water. "Nothing. It's quiet like usual."

Seijūrō helped the other boy stand up and rubbed his hands which had grown cold. "The wind is chilly tonight. You should get inside before you catch a cold."

Tetsuya obeyed him and turned back towards their room. It was then that he noticed that Tetsuya was walking barefooted, _again_.

"Can you wait at the porch? I'll draw some water so you could wash your feet. You should wear your slippers next time."

"Okay, next time," Tetsuya acquiesced. He went to the porch and sat down. "Still, I don't understand why humans wear them. They feel so weird on my feet."

"If you are going to complain about it, then I won't be hearing your complains about the water being too cold. Now, stay there and wait until I get back."

With Tetsuya's nod, Seijūrō went to the well near the corner. He slid off his blanket to one shoulder and rolled up his sleeves. The night was really cold even if it was still summer. He drew water from the well and transferred it to a wooden basin. Then, he carefully carried the basin to the porch where Tetsuya sat staring intently at a frog as if it was the most curious thing.

As he came near, the frog jumped off, and Tetsuya was dismayed. But Seijūrō just brushed it off and placed the basin besides Tetsuya's feet. He went inside the room to grab a small towel, went back to where Tetsuya sat, and carefully folded the bottom of his yukata before he knelt on the ground in front of the other boy. He took one foot, and then the other, and bathed them with water.

"It's cold," said Tetsuya.

"No complaining," chastised Seijūrō. Tetsuya pouted, but Seijūrō was having none of it. "Wake me up next time you feel like having another midnight excursion."

"Fine. I will, next time."

Seijūrō inwardly questioned when was '_next time_'. Despite telling Tetsuya the same things over and over, the other boy seemed to forget about them when '_next time_' came. But he dropped it and pursued a different topic.

"What was so interesting about the frog?" asked Seijūrō.

"It croaked," said Tetsuya.

Seijūrō rolled his eyes. "Of course it did. What about it?"

Tetsuya seemed lost in thought. Seijūrō thought he was going to drop it like the other times he asked when he found the boy fascinated by crickets, birds, and other animals. He didn't expect that Tetsuya would actually reply.

"I used to understand them," Tetsuya answered. "The birds, the insects, the frogs, and even the loud cats outside. I used to be able to hear their voices. Even if I couldn't speak their language, I could understand everything that they said. But after I became human, I can no longer hear them talk. It's actually the first time that I'm hearing frogs croaking instead of speaking. It feels strange."

Seijūrō thought that it made sense. If all his life as a fish he could understand all other animals, then he wouldn't know the difference between a human speaking and a dog barking.

"Is that why you said that the water was quiet?"

"Yes," Tetsuya replied. "Back when I was a fish, the pond was always full of chatter. Each koi and goldfish has its own voice. I thought that if I tried hard enough, then maybe I could hear their voices again. But now, I think that," he paused, and whispered, "I think that I won't be able to hear them again."

Seijūrō studied Tetsuya's face, but it was blank as usual. He thought that the boy sounded almost wistful. "So that's the reason why you don't eat fish," he mused.

"Yes. It is very hard to eat them if you can hear them speak and even beg for their lives," said Tetsuya.

"You have a point. I don't think I'll have the appetite to do so."

Then Seijūrō grew silent. There was a question in his mind that had been bothering him. He finished washing Tetsuya's feet and toweled them off. Then after contemplating about it, Seijūrō decided to ask Tetsuya, "Do you regret being turned into human?"

"No. Never. Why?" Tetsuya asked, confused.

"You could no longer hear their voices. You also have to learn how to live like us. It must have been very difficult for you."

"It is difficult," Tetsuya admitted. "It's like... a human learning how to fly like birds. Fishes don't have legs, so even learning how to walk was very difficult. It is even more frustrating for me that I can't swim. Swimming is the most fish-like thing to do, but human limbs are so clumsy and awkward. I couldn't even do the most natural thing for fishes."

"But I don't regret it," Tetsuya continued. "It was also my wish to stay by Seijūrō-kun's side, and I am very happy to be with Seijūrō-kun."

"During my time in the sea, I used to understand all the creatures I met: the fishes, sharks, and whales, every single one of them. I hear their voices but they couldn't hear mine. Looking back, I think that it was a very lonely existence, but I didn't know it at that time. It was only after I met Seijūrō-kun that I understood it. Seijūrō-kun was the first other creature who tried to understand me. I was very happy, and yet lonely at the same time."

"It was Seijūrō-kun who taught me how loneliness feels like, and what fear is like, all because I wanted to be with Seijūrō-kun. I still feel them now, but I am also the happiest when I'm with Seijūrō-kun. It is strange, but it feels right. I don't know how to call this uneasiness, but I feel that if I'm with Seijūrō-kun, I will learn. So, I don't think I'll ever regret staying with Seijūrō-kun."

Seijūrō finished drying Tetsuya's feet and stood up. Then, he bent down and hugged the other boy, and Tetsuya's scale on Seijūrō's pendant clinked with the other boy's matching pendant. They were the only reminder left of what Tetsuya was once was, and under the pale moonlight, they glowed almost ethereal-like.

"Then stay with me, Tetsuya," said Seijūrō. "Don't leave my side. I'll teach you everything you need to know. And I will protect you from anything that might harm you. So, stay with me, _always_."

Tetsuya smiled. It was awkward, and it felt odd on his face, but nonetheless it was the first of the many smiles that he was going to make from that day on.

"Of course, Seijūrō-kun," he answered. "That is also my wish."

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**-fin-**

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**Words from the author**: And so we come to the end of our story. Thank you so much for taking your time reading this story and being part of it. All your reviews/faves/follows have really encouraged me. It was a wonderful experience for my part. Bittersweet have always been the taste that I'm most comfortable writing. I hope a lot of you enjoyed it too.

I would also like to congratulate **AokazuSei** for beta-reading this story. Thank you very much.

And lastly, I _might_ be posting a chapter about the legend of Kuroko's kind (but I'm still undecided about it). But as of this chapter, this story is officially complete.

The rest that follows is just the mad ramblings of an author, so you may ignore it if you wish.

If you'd want to know what would happen to Midorima in the story, then maybe this could give us a hint:

"_Needless to say, Seijūrō was looking forward to Midorima's reaction once he learned that Tetsuya became human, and secretly so was Tetsuya._"

"_They will never let him live through it.__" ... _which pertains to his embarrassing speeches with the fish.

Midorima is one of the more frequently-appearing characters since he is Akashi's closest friend (according to the wiki). The wiki also said that only Midorima didn't change after the five got their abilities. Also, he's very perceptive to have observed that there were two Akashi(s). Ah, and the author also likes to tease Midorima.

Asides from the main characters and Midorima, Kana was also a character I loved to write. She's the stereotypical girl from the province that should have heeded her grandmother's advice that she '_shouldn't have gone mingling with the queer city-folk_'. She grew up making mud rice balls, catching frogs, and all those dirty things kids do. Thus her persistence that her young master should '_play with kids his age_'.

My initial plan with this was just a light drama sprinkled with my brand of humor. But somewhere during the process, the emotions grew thicker, and I started thinking things from stupid ones like, "if fish are like birds where males are _prettier_ than females, then Kise would make the most manly fish," to more curious ones like "how would a fish feel if it's touched by my hands? The difference on the body temperatures would probably make it very uncomfortable for the fish," and ,"how far was the distance from Kyoto to Tokyo for a fish that used to swim across the oceans and seas?" But Kuroko was a special fish whose thoughts was slowly turning more human as the years have gone by. He even chose human sentiment over fish instincts at the end when Akashi held the very sick him.

I think it was almost inevitable for Kuroko to turn into human. He was slowly thinking like one, unconsciously hoping to be one, and although he didn't know it, he was the wish-granting fish in the legends. He couldn't know that understanding different species was an ability unique only to him as a wish-granter because he couldn't _talk_ to anyone. What I thought was the real miracle was how two very different species with very different _values,_ who couldn't even hold a two-way conversation, arrived to the same wish. Through their years together, and the bonds they shared, Akashi and Kuroko's wish became one at that single moment.

And so, Kuroko took form of a human so similar in likeness to Akashi. He couldn't be as tall as Midorima, as _beautiful_ as Kise, or become a woman like Satsuki. Even if he was formerly a magical fish, his human form could only turn out to be the plain Kuroko Tetsuya, who looks so much like Akashi (it's good that their character designs look so much alike). Akashi was his ideal person, and the person he spent most of his time with, that he unconsciously modeled his human form after Akashi. -though I imagine Kuroko would have asked for more height if he knew about human aesthetics, no offense to Akashi. Only Kuroko's unique coloring was preserved from his physical appearance back when he was still a fish, maybe as a semblance of familiarity, or as something he wished to hold on to; Akashi did find the color of his eyes and his scales beautiful.

I really enjoyed writing this fic, and mostly because at the end of the day, I could open my laptop and read all your feedback, and they would never fail to make me smile. I didn't expect this much feedback since my style could be quite odd and a bit wordy compared to a lot of fics; and I even started with a long narrative for part 1, which could be a little discouraging for readers. So I'm really glad that a lot of you reached the end. Thank you :)


	6. Extra: The Wish-Granting Fish

**The Wish-Granting Fish**

You might have heard of stories about fishes that held mysterious powers, and fishes that could even grant wishes. There's a children's story about a fisherman who asked a magical fish to grant his wife's greedy wishes. And there's another story that told about the legendary river king that was rumored to be capable of curing any illness- though you might have to spend hours and hours fishing it with a golden or a higher-grade rod. But here I will tell you of a wish-granting fish who got its personal wish granted.

…

There's a legend that originated in the remote islands somewhere in the Central Pacific region; it tells about a fish that could grant wishes.

The legends say that once every hundred of years, a special fish was born. It was a fish that was dearly blessed by the gods. It would have scales as black and shiny as volcanic glass, and eyes that would glow brighter than any living creature. It is said that these fishes were sent on earth to hear the woes of the world.

And so, the gods gave it three gifts:

The first gift was, the fish would be able to understand any living creature, be it man, beast, bird, or fish. The fish would travel all over the rivers and seas, and to the deepest parts of the ocean, listening to all creatures that had voices of their own.

The second gift was, no creature would have the heart to harm the creature. Because of this, the fish would know no fear. It was mainly due to this gift that the fish would have the tendency to explore the unknown. It would travel to the most perilous rivers and lakes, and even approach the most ferocious predators; yet no harm would come to the fish by any creature that had a will of its own.

The last and the most important gift was, it could grant a single wish at the end of its life. After a hundred years worth of journey, and when the first of its scales would fall, it would embark on a final journey to find and grant a single wish to the creature that needed it most.

It is said that once the fish dies, it would go back to its home in the celestial realm where it would sing about all its adventures on earth and all the creatures it met. There it would dwell with the rest of its kindred until it was ready to face another journey on earth once more.

Because no traces of the fish would remain after it dies, its existence remained only as a myth.

…

There's a story about a special fish that was born in the depth of the Pacific ocean as a black flounder. It didn't know that it was a special fish, nor did it know about the legends surrounding itself. The only thing it knew was that it was the only one left of its kind. The fish was alone, but it did not find it odd; rather, it encouraged the fish to wander about the depth of the ocean.

It was during one of its travels that it met a cowardly shark. The cowardly shark couldn't stop moving because that's what sharks do, yet it was always afraid of what it might encounter farther ahead. The shark told the fish that it wanted to be a bird so it could fly far from anything that would try to catch it. The fish couldn't speak shark-language, so it just listened.

The shark's stories made the fish curious about the skies, so one day, it went to the surface. And that was how it saw the clumsiest-looking creature riding the strangest fish; it was a fisherman on a boat.

Thinking that the boat was a fish, the fish approached it, but it didn't answer. The fish nudged the boat, and still the boat didn't speak. It tried to circle around the boat and coax it to talk, when suddenly, the fish couldn't move! The flounder got caught in the fisherman's net! And then it was lifted up, up, up and above the surface of the sea.

When the fisherman took a good look at the ugly fish, he saw the unearthly glow of its eyes. Then suddenly, the fisherman didn't have the heart to hurt the fish. But he couldn't set it free either because he was in dire need of money. He thought that, perhaps, he could fetch a fair price for the ugly fish, for its eyes were the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen. So, he went to a pet shop and turned it in. To his amazement, he got more than enough to feed his family _and_ his sister's family for a whole month without fishing!

As for the fish, it was its first time above the sea, and it was very curious indeed. It continued to watch at and listen to the funny two-legged creatures(men) wearing funnier-colored furs(clothes). It watched the skies as it turned from pale blue, to an array of yellow, pink, and red, to the darkest blue, and then back again. It watched the trees turn pink, green, then red, before it sheds off all its leaves as the whole scenery outside was blanketed with white puffy balls that fell from the sky.

And then the fish realized that there's a wider world out there waiting to be explored.

It wasn't long before the fish was bought by a new owner. The fish couldn't remember much about the travel since it was always kept in the dark, but it didn't know that it was being brought to the heart of the largest city in that country. And there, it was sold to a young boy. It was an encounter that would drastically change its life forever.

The boy was very rich; he was provided with everything he needed, and could have everything he wanted. He had all of his heart's desires, all except for one: the recovery of his very sick mother who he loved most. Ever since his mother's accident, the boy steeled his young heart and warmed up to no one.

But the boy was also very different any other creature that the fish had encountered. He was very intelligent for his age, yet also young enough to keep a little corner in his heart, enough to fit a silver of hope for fairy tale endings. It might be his intense desire to see his mother well again that made him want to believe in miracles. And thus, when the boy saw the fish, he believed that it was a very special fish.

Yet, a strange fate seemed to be woven between these two very unlike creatures. The boy found that the fish could understand him, and he thought that it was the most peculiar thing. It made the boy more and more curious still as he tried to understand the strangest fish.

As for the fish, it experienced its many firsts. It was its first time being taught human games. It was its first time being asked questions and having to answer them. It was also its first time that a single creature payed so much attention to the fish. And most of all, it was its first time to encounter a creature that tried to understand it. The boy was the first creature to have ever tried to hear the fish's silent voice.

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Each night, the boy and the fish would talk alone in their pond. It started as a boy who tried to understand, and the fish who could understand. Then, the boy started to tell the fish about what children do, the games they play, and mostly about his dear mother and many other things there was to tell about his day; and the fish would make gestures that was only understood by the two of them. To the fish that never thought of being understood before, the nights it spent with the boy was the most magical.

And through the boy, the fish finally experienced a world that was very different from its own. In its dreams, it walked with the boy: up the steps of the temple as they welcomed the new day of the year, across the well-trimmed grass as they witnessed the first blossoms of the year, hand-in-hand through many stalls and a great crowd as they tried to find a good viewing spot for fireworks while trying not to lose each other, and finally with the boy's friends after the tiring games they played.

Time passed. The fish that was used to wandering finally found a place that it could call home. And the boy who closed his heart slowly opened it up to the fish.

Then one day, something happened to the boy, and something that also involved the boy's mother. It was then that the boy stopped visiting their pond. The fish didn't know what happened, but when the boy returned, he was greatly changed. The boy had become cold, distant, withdrawn, and harsh. He no longer talked to the fish, and the fish grew very lonely.

The fish thought that it was alright; it would only go on like the days before it met the boy. But the fish realized that it couldn't; its thoughts would always wander back to the boy and the days long gone.

Days, weeks, months, and years passed, yet the boy remained unchanged. The fish then feared that the boy would be lost forever.

Then, the fish thought of the only person it could think that could save the boy from himself: his mother. The fish fervently wished that it could heal the boy's mother.

Because of its love for the boy, the fish unknowingly hastened its own time. Its body grew weak, and its scales started to fall. And it gave to the boy the most beautiful gift it could give: its black scales that the boy loved so much.

The boy realized his mistake, and soon their friendship was amended. But the fish's end was already close at hand. A hundred year's worth had already been taken from the fish, and its health only continued to decline.

It was then that at the end of the fish's life, a miracle happened. Without words or speech, two thoughts became one: the fish who wished to be with the boy, and the boy who wished that his fish would continue to stay by his side.

And soon the fish passed from the mortal realm.

As the fish journeyed towards the blessed realm, it recovered all its memories from its previous lives. As it sifted through all its memories, through all its happiest times in the blessed realm, and through its saddest times on earth, its short time spent with the boy still stood out from all the rest. Then its little heart wept for the boy it left.

Along the way, a melodious voice asked the fish about the boy's wish, about _their_ wish. The fish answered.

And their wish was granted.

Some said that boy's mother was cured. Others said that the fish became human. But most said that the boy and his fish stayed together. It is said that only two of the fish's scales remained in this world, and they continued to shine while their bonds lasted.

And here we reach the end of our story. No one knew what became of the boy and his fish, but I'd like to think that they lived happily ever after for the rest of their days.

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**A/N:** Sorry, this has been very late. I've been busy lately. But at last, this story is finally complete. Thank you all for following this story -bows-.

To the writers who are trying to find story ideas, I have some ideas/prompts that you might want.

_"__Kuroko Tetsuya's misdirection comes with a price: the more he uses it, the more he becomes invisible, until he becomes completely and permanently invisible."_

That idea came to me while listening to The Lord of the Rings. It has been on my mind way before I wrote The Boy and His Fish. Unfortunately, I haven't gone further than that idea.

If the first one isn't your cup of tea, then here's a rom-com idea (with a little bittersweet taste) that came to my mind due to the numerous vampire!Akashi or non-human!Akashi fics:

_"Kuroko Tetsuya was __convinced that Akashi Seijuro was a vampire; __h__e just needs to find __some __solid proof."_

_ "On the other hand, Akashi Seijuro misinterprets Kuroko's aggressive behavior as romantic gestures. He wasn't interested at first, but because of Kuroko's persistence, gradually, he became interested. And that was how he found himself courting one oblivious Kuroko."_

_ "A story where Tetsuya stubbornly insists that Akashi is a vampire, and goes to great lengths to prove it... and Akashi continues to misunderstand Tetsuya's intentions. The rest of the GoM is in for a major headache, while Akashi is heading for a major heartache."_

That's laughter and tears rolled into one.

And last but not the least, because Akashi was the only uninvited GoM member during their Teiko night outs... (even Midorima was there!)

_ "In which Akashi only wanted to be invited to eat Gari Gari Popsicle too. But things tend to escalate quickly and blow up to astronomical proportions whenever Akashi is involved."_

_ "Akashi is just a normal boy. He eats, he laughs, he sleeps, and most of all, he also wants to eat Gari Gari Popsicle with his friends after school. He's just an ordinary boy. -Really-."_

I'm not sure if there's already an existing story like those in this fandom, but if there isn't, feel free to use them:D


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